THE  STORY  OF  THE  SCOTS  STAGE 


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See  page  144, 


THE 

STORY  OF  THE 

SCOTS  STAGE 


BY 


ROBB    LAWSON 


New  York 

E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

168  Fifth  Avenue 


PRINTED    IN    SCOTLAND 


FOREWORD. 

As  it  seems  needful  to  explain  why  this 
book  came  into  existence,  I  may  say  that  as 
an  eager  student  of  Drama,  I  was  anxious 
to  trace  out  for  myself  the  history  of  the 
Scottish  Stage.  The  enquiry,  pleasurable 
a^  it  was,  became  a  somewhat  tortuous  one. 
Unluckily  for  the  student,  Scotland  does 
not  seem  to  be  very  proud  of  its  stage 
connections,  with  the  result  that  to  link 
the  story  together  one  has  to  become  an 
Autolycus,  delving  into  all  sorts  and  condi- 
tions of  documents  and  unsuspected  volumes. 
This  role  I  willingly  adopted,  and  thinking 
that  if  I  strung  my  notes  together  in  some 
historical  order,  the  volume  might  not  be 
unwelcome  to  brother  Scots  at  home  and 
abroad,  I  have  pleasure  in  submitting  the 
result. 


2  FOREWORD. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  go  beyond  the 
commencing  date  of  the  now  popular  Tour- 
ing Companies,  mainly  because  their  pro- 
ducts cannot  be  regarded  as  indigenous  to 
the  Scottish  stage. 

If  this  attempt  at  laying  the  foundation 
should  inspire  the  more  exhaustive  history 
really  desired,  my  purpose  will  have  been 
happily  served. 

I  am  indebted  to  many  friends  for  willing 

services  rendered,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from 

mentioning  in  this  connection  the  names  of 

Mr.  J.  M.  Bulloch  of  The  Graphic,  Mr.  Frank 

Boyd  of    The  Dundee   Courier,    Mr.   John 

Duncan  of   The   Glasgow  Herald,   Mr.    H. 

Thomson  Clark,  and  Mr.  J.  A.  Whamond- 

Mudie. 

RoBB  Lawson. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I— Introductory,       -        .       -        .        9 

Bards — Minstrels — Thomas  the  Rhymer — John  Bar- 
bour—Andrew Wyntoun— Blind  Harry — James  I. 
— Henryson — William  Dunbar — Gavin  Douglas — 
Guisards— Archery — Robin  Hood — Little  John — 
Strolling  Players— Forerunners  of  Music  Hall  Artists 
— Scottish  Mystery  Play — Abbot  of  Unreason — The 
Satire  of  the  Thrne  Estatis — The  May  Queen — Mor- 
alities— The  Censorship — Pageants  and  Masques. 

II.— The  Aberdeen  Revels,       -       -      39 

Abbot  and  Prior  of  Bon- Accord— T/w  Holy  Bluds — 
Mary  Magdalene—The  Craftsmen's  share  in  Corpus 
Christi  Plays— Candlemas  Day  functions— Robin 
Hood  and  Little  John— Penalties  for  troubling  the 
Lords  of  Bon-Accord— Parliamentary  suppression— 
The  King  intervenes — Lawrence  Fletcher's  Com- 
pany of  Players— Story  of  Aberdeen  Playhouse. 

III.— The  Origin  of  Drama  in  Edin- 
burgh,      63 

James  II.  grants  use  of  Greenside  for  sports — The 
Town  Pipers— Harpers,  Fiddlers,  and  Pipers— Page- 
ants— Masques  and  Tournaments— Dunbar,  play- 
wright— Robin  Hood  Plays— Lyndsay's  Satire  — 
Parliament  put  down  Robin  Hood  Plays  and  May 
Queen — Mob  attack  the  Magistrates — Pageant  for 
Queen  Mary — The  Pomp  of  the  Gods— The  Censor- 
Penalty  for  Actors,  to  be  hung  as  thief. 


CONTENTS. 


IV.— Edinburgh's  Early  Drama,        -      84 

Pageant  to  James  VI.— Reformation  helped  by 
Plays — King  takes  Players  under  his  patronage — 
Shakespeare's  Dancing  Horse  —  Rope-walking  — 
Kirk  denounces  Plays,  and  King  intervenes — Eng- 
lish Players  at  Holyrood — James  VI.  demands  re- 
vival of  May  games,  etc. — Ben  Jonson  in  Edinburgh 
— Siamese  Twins — Dromedary,  Quack  Doctor,  and 
Rope- Walker — The  Fountains  proclaimed  Masters 
of  the  Revels  —  Dancing  Schools  licensed  —  Irish 
Players — Parliament  patronise  The  Spanish  Friar — 
Macbeth  at  Holyrood  —  Allan  Ramsay  —  Aston 's 
Theatre— Plays  at  Taylor's  Hall— Edinburgh  Free- 
masons patronise  the  Players— John  Ryan  at  Canon- 
gate  Theatre — High  Life  Below  Stairs  Riot. 

V. — The  Edinburgh  Stage,    -        -      116 

Fire  at  Canongate  Theatre — Production  of  Home's 
Douglas — The  Kirk  takes  action — A  storm  of  abuse 
and  ridicule— The  Cape  Club— The  New  Theatre 
Royal — George  Whitfield  objects — Samuel  Foote, 
lessee — Digges  and  Bland,  lessees — Mrs.  Yates — 
John  Jackson,  lessee  —  Mrs.  Siddons  —  Stephen 
Kemble,  lessee — "The  Circus"  —  Henry  Erskine 
Johnstone  —  Barker's  Panorama — Master  Betty — 
Walter  Scott  and  Henry  Mackenzie  granted  patent 
of  Theatre  Royal— Henry  Siddons  fits  Corri's  rooms 
as  Theatre— Command  performance  of  Bob  Roy  by 
George  IV.— The  Pantheon— Adelphi  Theatre— 
Henry  Irving  in  "Stock." 

VI. —The    Arbroath    and    Dundee 

Stage, 152 

Scott  describes  Fairport  Theatre— The  New  Theatre 
— Corbett  Ryder's  company  in  Arbroath — "  Stars  " 


'  CONTENTS.  5 

who  visited  there — First  Dundee  dramatist — Shake- 
speare and  Dundee — Dundee  Freemasons  in  proces- 
sion to  theatre  —  Dodging  the  Act  —  Edinburgh 
Comedians  at  Trades  Hall — Council  bans  the  Flayers 
— Yeaman  Shore  Theatre  built — The  Pretty  Girl  of 
Dundee — Opening  of  Theatre  Royal — Mr.  and  Mrs, 
Henry  Siddons — Stephen  Kemble — W.  H.  Murray 
— Corbett  Ryder's  Company  in  Boh  jRoj/— Mathews 
— Johnston — Clara  Fisher,  9-year-old  prodigy — Mac- 
ready— Mrs.  Faucit—Brahara— David  Bell,  aged  13 
— Paganini — Charles  Kean — Samuel  Phelps — The 
great  Mackay— The  African  Roscius— Thistle  Hall 
— G.  V.  Brooke — Dog-drama — A  quintuple  Richard 
ni.— Tom  Powrie— Helen  Faucit— "  Wee  Scott.' 

VII.— Early  Glasgow  Drama,   -       -      183 

Town  Drummers  and  Town  Minstrels — Vain  plays 
at  Ruglen — The  Council  decide  to  imprison  stroUing 
Players — The  Temple  of  Beelzebub — Giddy  young 
Glaswegians — Teaching  of  dancing — The  Beggar's 
Opera— BwtreWs  Close— The  first  Glasgow  Theatre 
— George  Whitfield  gets  angry — The  mob  burn  the 
Theatre — Alston  Street  Theatre— Fanatical  mob  set 
fire  to  it — Mrs.  Bellamy — Dunlop  Street  Theatre 
erected,  1781 — Mrs.  Siddons— John  Jackson,  lessee 
— The  School  for  Scandal — Master  Betty — Jackson's 
economies. 

VIII.— The  Glasgow  Stage,        -        -      208 

Erection  of  Queen  Street  Theatre— The  Black  Bull 
Inn — Harry  Johnston— George  Frederick  Cooke— 
Edmund  Kean— Charles  Kean— Miss  O'Neill— The- 
atre illumination  by  gas— First  Scottish  performance 
of  Rob  Roy — Sheridan  Knowles— Ellen  Tree — James 
Aitken — The  rival  lessees  in  Dunlop  Street— Due- 
row's    Sfxig  Hunt  —  York  Street  Theatre  —  G.    V. 


6  CONTENTS. 

Brooke  —  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Kean  — Adelphi 
Theatre — Samuel  Phelps — Muraford's  "  Geggie  " — 
Edmund  Glover — Helen  Faucit— Professor  Ander- 
son's City  Theatre — Calvert's  *'  Queen's  "  Theatre. 

IX.— Perth  Dramatic  Records,       -      244 

Guisards— Saint  Obert's  play— Church  licenses  Com- 
pany of  Players—  Spectacle  at  South  Inch — Pageant 
to  Charles  I. — Perth  Grammar  School  presents  Plays 
—Theatre  in  a  flat— Guild  Hall  Theatre— Glovers' 
Hall  Theatre— The  Theatre  accident— St.  Anne's 
Lane  Theatre— Neil  Gow — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry 
Siddons — Corbett  Ryder,  actor-manager — Mackay 
as  mimic— jRo6  Roy — Opening  of  Theatre  Royal — 
Macready — First  Pantomime— Edmund  Kean— Cale- 
donian Theatre  Company — C.  Bass,  lessee— A  Penny 
GaflF — Hooper's  Touring  Company — John  Wilson, 
the  Scottish  tenor  —  Paganini  —  Cooke's  Circus  — 
Wombwell's  Menagerie — Sheridan  Knowles — The 
African  Roscius — Helen  Faucit. 

Bibliography, 287 

Index, 293 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FACING  PAGE 

The  famous  Mackay  as  "Bailie  Nicol  Jarvie  " 
in  Rob  Roy  (Isaac  Pocock's  dramatisation 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel),      -         -   Frontispiece 

James  1.  (1394- 143 7  a.d.),  author  of  the  love 

poem.  The  Kingis  Quhair,  -         -         -         -         16 

The  Forerunners  of  our  Music  Hall  Artists — 
The  Stilt  Act,  Performing  Monkey,  The 

Hurdy-Gurdy, 24 

The  Forerunners  of  our  Music  Hall  Artists — 

The  Jugglers,  Bagpiper,  The  Regal  Player,         32 

The  Performing  Horse,  The  Jougs  for  Robin 
Hood  Miscreants,  The  Stool  of  Repentance 
for  performers  of  May  Queen,    -         -         -         36 

A  Street  Performance  of  a  Mystery  Play,         -         48 

Theatre  Royal,  Shakespeare  Square,  Edinburgh 

(1768-1859  A.D.), 136 

Theatre  Royal,  Dundee,  in  t  81 6,      -         -         -       168 

Theatre  Royal,  Dunlop  Street,  Glasgow  (1781- 

1862  A.D.),  ---_--  200 

Old    Theatre    Royal,    Queen   Street,    Glasgow 

(1805-1829  A.D.),         -----  208 

Mumford's    "  Geggie,"    Saltmarket,    Glasgow, 

opened  circa  1835  a.d.,      -         -         -         -       232 


THE  STORY  OF  THE 
SCOTS  STAGE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

.Whether  as  Picts  or  Saxons  or  by  any  other 
racial  cognomen,  one  thing  is  certain,  that 
Scotland  was  inhabited  by  men  of  the  Norse 
race.  The  Norse  Joel  or  Yule-tide  formed  the 
chief  public  event  in  the  lives  of  this  people 
and,  taking  place  as  it  did  in  mid-winter, 
furnished  the  occasion  for  that  tangible  ex- 
pression of  the  joy  which  was  the  common 
heritage  of  both  gods  and  men. 

Between  tliose  early  manifestations  of  a 
drama,  which  followed  out  an  evolutionary 
process    similar   to    the    Grecian   and   Roman 


10  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

product,  whose  mimetic  dances  were  regarded 
as  part  of  their  religious  ceremonies,  and  the 
development  of  such,  there  is  little,  historically 
speaking,  which  may  help  us  to  breach  the 
hiatus  which  necessarily  exists.  But  although 
the  gulf  cannot  be  directly  bridged  by  historical 
aid,  the  institution  of  the  drama  as  a  real  entity 
may  be  considered  as  commencing  with  the 
use  of  poetry  as  a  medium  for  the  exploitation 
of  the  heroic  feats,  mythological  and  otherwise, 
which  the  first  rhapsodists  employed  in  singing 
the  praises  of  their  heroes.  Indeed,  in  those 
primeval  days  poetry  occupied  a  higher  national 
position  than  it  can  ever  hope  to  do  in  the 
present  days  of  philistinism.  Its  early  potency 
is  well  illustrated  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Essay 
on  Romance. 

'*  Poets  are  the  historians  and  often  the 
priests  of  the  tribe.  Their  command  of 
language,  then  in  its  infancy,  excites  not 
merely  pleasure,  but  enthusiasm  and  admira- 
tion. When  separated  into  a  distinct  class — 
as  was  the  case  with  the  Celtic  bards— they 
rank  high  in  the  scale  of  society,  and  we  not 
only  find  kings  and  nobles  Hstening  to  them 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

with  admiration,  but  emulous  of  their  art 
and  desirous  to  be  enrolled  amongst  their 
numbers.  Several  of  the  most  renowned 
northern  kings  and  champions  valued  them- 
selves as  much  upon  their  powers  of  poetry, 
as  upon  their  martial  exploits,  and  of  the 
Welsh  princes,  the  Irish  kings,  and  the  High- 
land chiefs  of  Scotland,  very  many  practised 
the  arts  of  poetry  and  music.  Llywarch  Hen 
was  a  prince  of  the  Cymraig,  Brian  Boromhe 
a  harper  and  musician — and  without  resorting 
to  the  questionable  authenticity  of  Ossian — 
several  instances  of  the  kind  might  be 
produced  in  the  Highlands." 

The  Scottish  minstrels  are  mentioned  in  the 
same  Essay.  The  French  language  was  still 
being  spoken  at  the  English  court,  and  latterly, 
this  common  tongue  formed  itself  into  that 
mixed  dialect  known  as  Anglo-Norman. 

Thomas  the  Rhymer  of  Erceldoune  (1226- 
1297  A.D.),  borrowing  his  subject-matter  from 
the  Welsh  traditions  and  the  events  con- 
nected with  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights  of  the 
Round  Table,  became  the  author  of  the  first 
classical  English  romance,  and  is  com- 
memorated as  such  by  his  great  English  con- 


12  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

temporary,  Robert  de  Brunne.  This  did  not 
imply  the  non-existence  of  any  English  litera- 
ture, but  is  due  to  the  fact  that  his  predecessors 
and  contemporaries  had  contented  themselves 
by  assuming  the  easier  task  of  translating  the 
French  romances,  such  as  Sir  Thopas,  Sir 
Isenbras,  and  Golagros  and  Gawaine,  all  of 
which  have  been  traced  to  this  source.  Regarded 
as  a  prophet,  the  popular  belief  was  that  Thomas 
had  been  spirited  away  by  the  fairies  and  had 
remained  in  their  land  the  space  of  seven  years. 
Upon  his  death  he  returned  to  that  sweet 
Elysium,  and  it  is  said  now  **  drees  his  weird  " 
until  the  hour  when  he  is  permitted  to  re-visit 
the  earth.  All  of  which  is  circumstantially  set 
forth  in  the  Border  Ballad. 

*'  True  Thomas  lay  on  Huntlie  bank, 

A  ferlie  he  spied  wi'  his  e'e, 

And  there  he  saw  a  lady  bright 

Come  riding  down  by  the  Eildon  Tree. 


"  '  Now,  ye  maun  go  wi*  me,*  she  said, 
'  True  Thomas,  ye  maun  go  wi'  me ; 
And  ye  maun  serve  me  seven  years. 

Thro'  weal  or  woe,  as  may  chance  to  be. 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

•*  •  But  Thomas,  ye  maun  hold  your  tongue, 
Whatever  ye  may  hear  or  see, 
For  if  you  speak  word  in  Elflyn  land 
Ye'll  never  get  back  to  your  ain  countrie.' 


It  was  mirk,  mirk  nicht,  and  there  was  nae  stern  light, 
And  they  waded  thro'  red  blude  to  the  knee ; 

For  a'  the  blude  that's  shed  on  earth 
Runs  thro'  the  springs  o'  that  countrie. 


"  He  has  gotten  a  coat  of  the  even  cloth 
And  a  pair  of  shoes  of  velvet  green, 
And  till  seven  years  were  gane  and  past 
True  Thomas  on  earth  was  never  seen." 

According  to  Walter  Bower,  a  zealous 
chronicler  of  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  royal  youth,  Alexander  III. 
was  crowned  at  Scone,  in  the  year  1249 
A.D.,  with  every  circumstance  of  pomp 
and  magnificence.  Clad  in  his  regal  mantle, 
crowned  and  sceptred,  they  placed  him  upon 
the  Stone  of  Destiny.  Then  there  stood 
forward  out  of  the  stately  throng  a  venerable, 
hoary-headed  Highlander,  attired  in  scarlet 
cloak,  who  proceeded  to  recite  in  the  Gaelic 
tongue  the  genealogy  of  the  young  king,  tracing 
his  descent  from  the  fabulous  Gathelus.     This 


14  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

was  one  of  the  prominent  events  which  served 
to  shew  the  dignity  with  which  the  office  of  the 
Bard  was  regarded. 

The  second  poet  with  whom  we  have  to  deal 
is  Archdeacon  John  Barbour  ( 1 3 1 6- 1 3  9  5 ) . 
He  was  clerk  of  audit  to  the  household  of  the 
English  King  Richard  II.  In  the  year  1375,  at 
the  request  of  King  David,  he  commenced  his 
epic  poem,  The  Actes  and  Life  of  that  most 
Victorious  Conqueror,  Robert  Bruce,  King  of 
Scotland,  wherein  are  contained  the  Martlall 
Deeds  of  those  Valient  Princes,  Edward  Bruce, 
Syr  James  Douglas,  Erie  Thomas  Randal, 
Walter  Stewart  and  sundrie  others.  Of  this 
poem  Dr.  David  Irving  says:  "  Barbour  seems 
to  have  been  acquainted  with  those  finer  springs 
of  the  human  heart  which  elude  vulgar  observa- 
tion :  he  catches  the  shades  of  character  with  a 
delicate  eye,  and  sometimes  presents  us  with 
instances  of  nice  discrimination.  His  work  ia 
not  a  mere  narrative  of  events:  it  contains 
specimens  of  that  minute  and  skilful  delineation 
which  marks  the  hand  of  a  poet."  The  poem 
is  written  in  octo-syllabic  lines  forming  rhymed 
couplets,  of  which  there  are  seven  thousand. 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

The  first  printed  edition  was  published  about 
1570.  The  lines  quoted  are  taken  from  King 
Robert's  address  to  the  Scots  on  the  eve  of 
Bannockburn. 

**  For  we  hae  thre  great  awantageis 
The  fyrst  is  that  we  haf  the  rycht, 
And  for  the  rycht  ay  God  will  fycht ; 
The  tothyr  is,  that  thai  cummyn  ar 
For  lyppnnyng  off  thair  gret  powar, 
To  sek  us  in  our  owne  land : 
And  has  brought  her,  rycht  till  our  hand 
Ryches  in  to  sa  gret  quantite 
That  the  powrest  of  you  sail  bo 
Both  rych,  and  mychty  thar  with  all, 
Giff  that  we  wyne,  as  weill  may  fall. 
The  third  is,  that  we  for  our  lyvis, 
And  for  our  childre,  and  for  our  wywis, 
And  for  our  fredome,  and  for  our  land 
Ar  strenyeit  into  bataill  for  to  stand." 

Barbour  has  also  been  credited  on  somewhat 
uncertain  grounds  with  a  poem  entitled  The 
Brut,  in  which  is  related  the  history  of  the 
Stuarts,  beginning  with  their  descent  from  the 
fabulous  King  Brut ;  and  another  entitled  The 
Stewarts  Oryglnalle,  in  which  he  derives  the 
house  of  Stewart  from  Ninus,  the  founder  of 
Nineveh.  His  undoubted  poem  on  Bruce 
secured  to  him  £10  Scots  to  be  derived  from 
the    revenues   of   the   city   of   Aberdeen,    and 


16  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

a  pension  of  20s.  from  the  Burgh  mail,  a  fact 
which  brings  Scotland  into  the  early  records  of 
poet-laureateship . 

The  name  of  Andrew  Wyntoun  ( 1 3  50- 1 420) 
brings  us  to  the  third  of  the  Scots  poets. 
Canon-regular  of  St.  Andrews,  about  the  year 
1395  he  was  elected  Prior  of  the  Monastery  of 
St.  Serf  in  Lochleven.  His  contribution  to 
Scots  literature  consisted  of  the  great  historical 
poem,  An  Orygynale  Cronykil  of  Scotland, 
which  illustrates  many  of  the  leading  events  in 
the  history  of  the  country.  It  begins  by 
describing  the  return  of  King  David  II.  from 
captivity. 

*•  Yet  in  prison  was  King  Davy, 
And  when  a  lang  time  was  gane  bye 
Frae  prison  and  perplexitie 
To  Berwick  Castle  brought  was  he, 
With  the  Earl  of  Northamptoun, 
For  to  treat  there  of  his  ransoun." 

No  history  of  the  period  would  be  complete 
without  the  inclusion  of  the  name  of  Henry  the 
Minstrel,  or,  to  give  him  his  more  familiar  title. 
Blind  Harry.  He  was  living  and  working 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
but   for   the   most   part   his   personal   historyj 


JAMES    I.  (1304-1437  A.D.) 
Author  of  the  love  poem,    The  Kingis  Qtihair. 


See  page  18. 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

is  shrouded  in  darkness.  Supposed  to  be 
blind  from  birth,  he  eked  out  a  living  by; 
reciting  **  gestes  "  before  the  nobility.  His 
claim  to  record  is  based  upon  the  epic  poem. 
Ye  Artis  and  Deidis  of  ye  lUuster  and  Vailzeand 
Camploun  Schir  William  Wallace,  Knicht  of 
Ellerslie.  It  is  written  in  decasyllabic  Hnes,  a 
style  of  verse  which  became  more  common  at  a 
later  date.  The  only  MS.  of  the  poem  appears 
in  the  Advocates'  Library,  and  is  dated  1488. 
The  lines  depicting  **  The  Death  of  Wallace  " 
are  worthy  of  quotation  in  the  modernised 
version. 

**  On  Wednesday  the  false  Southron  forth  him  brought 
To  martyr  him,  as  they  before  had  wrought, 
Of  men  in  arms  led  him  a  full  great  rout. 
With  a  bold  sprite  good  Wallace  blink'd  about, 
A  priest  he  asked  for  God  that  died  on  tree. 
King  Edward  then  commanded  his  clergy 
And  said,  '  I  charge  you  upon  loss  of  life, 
None  be  so  bold  yon  tyrant  for  to  shrive, 
He  has  reigned  long  in  contrare  my  highness.* 
A  blithe  bishop  soon,  present  in  that  place. 
Of  Canterbury  he  then  was  righteous  lord. 
Against  the  King  he  made  this  right  record. 
And  said,  *  Myself  shall  hear  his  confessioun 
If  I  have  might,  in  contrare  of  thy  crown 
Anst  thou  through  force  will  stop  me  of  this  thing 
I  vow  to  God  who  is  my  righteous  King 
That  all  England  I  shall  her  interdict, 
And  make  it  known  thou  art  a  heretic." 


18  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

The  name  of  the  unfortunate  King  James  I. 
(1394- 1437)  forms  another  link  in  the  list  of 
Scotland's  representative  poets.  A  student  of 
Chaucer,  Cower,  and  Lydgate,  the  sweet  spell 
of  their  muse  had  quite  captivated  his  mind. 
At  Windsor  Castle  he  fell  in  love  with  the 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  and  niece 
to  Henry  IV.,  Jane  Beaufort,  who  was  the 
*'  begetter  "  of  the  celebrated  Kingis  Quhair 
(quire  or  book),  in  which  is  told  the  story  of 
his  love. 

* '  Kest  I  doun  myn  eye  ageyne 
Quhare  as  I  saw  walkyng  under  the  Toure 
Full  secretely,  new  camyn  hir  to  pleyne 
The  fairest  or  the  freschest  young  floure 
That  ever  I  saw,  methoucht,  before  that  houre. 
For  quhich  sodayne  abate,  anone  astert 
The  blude  of  all  my  body  to  my  hert." 

Stopford  Brooke  speaks  of  this  poem  thus: 
"In  six  cantos,  sweeter,  tenderer,  and  purer 
than  any  verse  till  we  come  to  Spenser,  he 
describes  the  beginning  of  his  love  till  its  happy 
end.  *  I  must  write  so  much  because  I  have 
come  so  from  Hell  to  Heaven.*  "  By  the  irony 
of  fate,  the  murder  of  James  I.  at  the  Carthusian 
Monastery  forms  the  subject  matter  of 
another  poem — Rossetti's  The  King's  Tragedy, 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

Amongst  minor  works  that  have  been  attributed 
to  the  royal  poet  may  be  mentioned  Christis 
Kirk  on  the  Green  and  Peblls  to  the  Play.  The 
authorship  of  both  of  these  has  been  disputed, 
and  while  Professor  Veitch  makes  out  a  fairly 
strong  case  for  James  I.,  Professor  Skeat  holds 
that  the  poem  is  an  imitation  of  one  by  thci 
King,  and  that  when  its  language,  style,  and 
metre  are  considered,  it  is  at  least  half  a  century, 
older  than  1437. 

We  must  content  ourselves  with  the  bare 
mention  of  the  names  of  Robert  Henryson,  or 
Henderson  (1430- 1506),  the  Dunfermline 
schoolmaster,  whose  Testament  of  Fair  Cresside 
forms  the  sequel  to  Chaucer's  story  of  Troilus ; 
of  William  Dunbar  (1460-15 17),  who  wrote 
that  celebrated  prothalamion,  The  Thrissil  and 
the  Rols,  in  honour  of  the  Princess  Margaret, 
sister  of  Henry  VIII.  and  the  affianced  bride  of 
James  IV. 

*'  Quhen  Merche  was  with  variand  windis  past 
And  Apperyl  had  with  her  silver  shouris 

Tane  lief  of  Nature  with  due  Orient  blast, 
And  lusty  May,  that  muddir  is  of  Flouris 
Had  maid  the  hirdis  to  begyn  thair  houris, 

Amang  the  tender  odouris  reid  &  quhyt, 

Quhois  harmony  to  heir  it  was  delyt." 


20  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

And  last,  though  not  the  least,  of  that  sweet 
singer,  Gavin  Douglas   (1474-1522). 

Laying  aside  for  the  moment  the  question 
of  literary  interest,  our  purpose  will  best  be 
served  by  a  rapid  survey  of  the  habits  of  the 
people  and  the  special  regard  with  which  they, 
cherished  the  pleasures  of  life.  For  the  Scots 
have  always  suffered  from  a  neighbour's 
too  easy  acceptance  of  the  dictum  that  the 
Northerner  is  too  serious-minded  readily  to 
accept  the  pleasures  that  lie  nearest  to  him. 
The  history  of  these  times  conveys  quite  a 
different  impression.  Warton,  in  his  Scottish 
Poetry,  regards  the  historical  guisards  as 
being  **  composed  of  moral  personifications  "; 
they  formed  part  of  the  festivities  of 
Christmas  time,  and  were  performed  by 
itinerant  maskers.  When  Church  service  had 
ended,  the  Sabbath  was  not  looked  upon  as 
being  particularly  sacred.  It  was  the  fashion 
to  hold  markets  and  fairs  on  that  day,  and  after 
the  rustic  had  attended  Mass,  he  adjourned  to 
the  alehouse  to  sell  his  meal  or  dispose  of  his 
live  stock.  Sometimes  the  priest  himself 
followed  his  parishioners  to  the  kirk-yard  to 


INTRODUCTORY.  21 

witness  their  skill  in  archery,  and  join  in  the 
merry  sports  and  frolics  of  Robin  Hood  and 
Little  John.  The  purpose  of  those  archery 
bouts  was  patriotic,  as  well  as  pleasurable.  The 
Act  of  James  I.,  Pari.  I.,  cap.  i8,  provided:  — 

**  That  all  men  busk  them  to  be  archers 
from  lo  years  {sic)  of  age  and  upwards,  and 
that  in  each  lo  pounds  of  land  there  be 
made  bow  marks,  especially  near  to  parish 
churches,  whereon  upon  holy  days  men  come 
and  at  least  shoot  three  about." 

To  the  playgoer,  the  inclusion  in  this 
history  of  such  sports  may  be  regarded  as 
totally  irrelevant,  as  bearing  upon  the  subject 
in  hand ;  but  the  story  of  those  rustic  games  is 
so  inseparably  interwoven  with  the  very  root 
principles  of  Scottish  drama  that  it  becomes  an 
essential  factor  in  helping  us  to  trace  out  its 
later  developments. 

Mention  should  here  be  made  of  what  was 
really  the  forerunner  of  the  present  music-haU 
artist,  the  wandering  player  of  the  thirteenth 
and  succeeding  century.  The  strolling  player 
might  easily  be  found  jogging  along  the  open 


22  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

road  in  company  with  the  pedlar.  That  generic 
term  used  by  historians  to  denote  the  wayfarers, 
minstrels  or  jongleurs,  included  musicians, 
singers,  jugglers,  dancers,  tumblers,  and 
buffoons.  While  the  genuine  bard  or  trouba- 
dour recited  or  chanted  his  versified  romances 
and  confined  his  performances  to  the  '*  big 
hooses,"  the  strolling  player  was  ever  ready  to 
accept  what  accommodation  the  gods  gave,  inn 
or  market,  wayside  house,  all  was  one.  Con- 
sequently, he  was  a  man  of  the  people,  satirising 
the  political  follies  of  the  day  or  eulogising  for 
paltry  pelf  the  feats  of  any  local  hero.  The 
licensed  jester  of  the  day,  with  a  free  entry 
anywhere,  he  performed  his  share  in  the 
evolution  of  social  life  by  disseminating  the 
sentiments  of  revolt  in  many  a  revolutionary 
lay.  Sometimes,  indeed,  these  minstrels  were 
employed  to  instigate  political  revolutions, 
and  often  they  were  the  carriers  of  private 
information.  They  were  made  free  of  hall, 
inn,  tavern,  or  fair :  no  gathering  was  complete 
without  its  band  of  strolling  players. 

The    first    drama    of    which    we    have    any. 
satisfactory  evidence  was  a  Mystery-play  called 


INTRODUCTORY.  23 

The  Haly  Blade,  which  was  acted  at  Aberdeen 
in  1445,  ^^  account  of  which  will  be  given  in 
the  chapter  relating  to  that  city.  These 
Mysteries  were  promulgated,  as  was  the  case 
in  all  European  countries,  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  priesthood  for  educational  purposes, 
and  they  enjoyed  a  goodly  vogue  until  the  dawn 
of  the  Reformation.  The  theme  was  taken  from 
the  Scriptures  and  was  reproduced  in  the  more 
assimilative  form  of  a  play.  The  Scottish 
Mystery-play,  following  out  the  same  course  as 
elsewhere,  gradually  fell  to  the  indignity  of 
parody.  Equally  with  the  French  fetes-des- 
foux,  the  occasion  lent  tlie  opportunity  for  a, 
burlesque  of  Church  ceremonies.  One  of  the 
most  popular  forms  of  it  was  The  Feast  of  Asses. 
The  chief  actor  was  Balaam's  ass,  or  that  which 
stood  beside  the  manger,  or  the  one  upon  which 
the  Saviour  rode.  A  donkey,  garbed  in 
grotesque  canonicals,  was  brought  into  the 
most  sacred  part  of  the  church,  where  the  mob 
made  high  sport  with  the  beast,  and  indulged 
in  all  manner  of  profanity.  The  Feast  dedi- 
cated to  the  Innocents  provided  an  excuse  for 
the  children  to  exercise  their  talent  for  mischief 


24  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

amongst  the  vestments,  ornaments,  and  shrines 
of  the  church. 

Curiously  enough,  these  unseemly  exhibitions 
were  at  first  tolerated  by  the  clergy,  but  in 
the  year  1547  a  macer  of  the  Primate  of 
St.  Andrews  appeared  at  Borthwick  with  letters 
of  excommunication  against  the  Lord  of 
Misrule,  which  the  curate  was  enjoined  to 
publish  at  High  Mass  in  the  Parish  Church. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  Castle  happened  at  that 
moment  to  be  engaged  in  the  sport  of  acting 
the  Abbot  of  Unreason.  With  this  mock 
dignitary  heading  the  procession,  they  laid 
violent  hands  upon  the  macer,  ducked  him 
repeatedly  in  the  nearest  mill-dam,  and  then 
compelled  him  to  eat  up  his  parchment  letters, 
which  by  a  merciful  whim  were  made  palatable 
through  steeping  in  wine.  Sometimes  the  lord, 
of  the  revels  was  called  the  Boy  Bishop,  or  the 
President  of  Fools.  Under  his  leadership  the 
people  entered  the  church,  gave  a  mock 
imitation  of  the  sacred  rites  and  sung  indecent 
parodies  of  the  Church  hymnal. 

The  next  step  in  the  evolutionary  process 
from  the  Mystery-play  was  that  of  the  Morality, 


•J. 

c  > 


INTRODUCTORY.  25 

in  which  the  characters  of  Holy  Writ  were 
changed  into  persons  representing  the  Virtues. 
These  latter  often  assumed  a  satirical  form. 
One  record  at  least  tells  how  James  Wedder- 
burn  of  Dimdee,  in  1 540,  converted  the  histories 
of  John  the  Baptist  and  Dionysius  the  Tyrant 
into  plays  which  were  acted  at  that  town,  and 
in  which  he  **  carped  roughlie  the  abuses  and 
corruptions  of  the  Papists,  counterfeiting  their 
lying  impostures  and  miracles."  But  this  was 
a  dangerous  practice,  as  he  foimd  to  his  intense 
personal  inconvenience.  He  was  denounced  as 
a  heretic,  and  had  to  flee  to  France  for  safety, 
where  eventually  he  died. 

Amongst  the  most  celebrated  of  those 
satirical  plays  stands  Sir  David  Lyndsay's  Satire 
of  the  Thrie  Estatis,  which  was  performed 
before  the  King  at  Linlithgow  on  the  first  day 
after  Epiphany,  1540.  The  best  account  we 
get  of  the  play  is  that  upon  its  performance  at 
Cupar  on  7th  June,  1552.  Some  time  before 
the  performance,  it  was  advertised  in  the  market 
place  by  means  of  two  or  three  actors  who 
strolled  into  the  market  and  played  an  interlude 
3 


26  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

to  excite  curiosity.  A  messenger  appeared  and, 
addressing  the  crowd,  said:  — 

*'  Richt  famous  Pepill,  ye  sail  understand 
How  that  an  Prince  richt  wyiss  and  vigilant 
Is  shortly  for  to  cum  into  this  land; 
And  purposis  to  hold  ane  Parliament, 
His  Three  Estaitis  thereto  hes  done  consent 
In  Cowpar  Toun,  in  to  thair  best  array 
With  support  of  the  Lord  Omnipotent, 
And  thairto  hes  afixt  ane  certane  day." 

An  old  cottar  next  came  upon  the  scene  and 
declared  his  wish  to  be  present :  — 

"  And  drink  a  quart  at  Cowpar  Toun 
,Wi'  my  gossip,  John  .Williamson," 

but  fears  his  **  devil  of  a  wife  "  will  prevent 
him.  That  worthy  arrives  and  justifies  his 
description  by  soundly  rating  her  husband, 
whom  slie  orders  to  stay  at  home,  and  watch 
the  kye  while  she  attends  the  play.  They  are 
still  squabbling  when  Fyndlaw  of  the  Foolband, 
an  arrant  coward  who  had  fled  from  Pinkie 
Cleuch,  appears  and  boasts  of  his  exploits, 
ending  with  the  prayer  that  **  the  great  God 
of  his  grace  "  may 


INTRODUCTORY.  27 

**  Send  us  weir  and  never  peace 
That  I  may  fecht  my  fill." 

After  this  braggadocio  speech,  according  to  the 
stage  direction,  the  character  lies  down  and 
falls  asleep.  A  fool  then  plays  a  trick  on  the 
old  man  at  the  suggestion  of  his  wife,  and  puts 
Fyndlaw's  courage  to  the  proof  by  presenting 
a  sheep's  head  on  a  staff.  Before  this  formid- 
able weapon  the  "  fighting  "  captain  flees  in 
terror.  The  messenger  ends  the  interlude  by 
again  announcing  the  date  of  the  play:  — 

*'  As  for  this  day  I  haf  nae  mair  to  say  you 
On  Whitsone  Tysday  cum  see  our  play  I  pray 

you; 
That  samise  day  is  the  sevinth  of  June, 
Thairfor  get  up  right  airly  and  disjune. 

(breakfast.) 

On  the  appointed  day,  accordingly,  at  the 
hour  of  7  A.M.,  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
who  could  get  there,  gathered  at  the  Castle  Hill, 
and  the  **  Satire  "  began.  It  consisted  of  seven 
parts  or  interludes  loosely  strung  together. 
Lyndsay  acted  upon  the  stage  maxim  adopted 
by  Goethe — that  the  manager  who  brings  much 


28  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

upon  the  scene  brings  something  for  everybody. 
The  first  part  is  the  tale  of  the  temptation  of 
King  Humanity  by  Dame  Sensuality:  the 
second  is  the  cheating  of  a  poor  man  by  a 
Roman  pardon-monger ;  the  third  a  sermon  by 
Folly:  in  the  fourth,  King  Humanity  again 
appears,  and  is  misled  by  Flattery,  Deceit,  and 
Falsehood,  who  in  the  fifth  part  overcomes 
Verity  and  Chastity :  the  sixth  is  the  Parliament 
of  Correction,  from  which  the  drama  takes  its 
name  of  The  Satire  of  the  Thrie  Estatis,  whose 
acts  were  drawn  with  a  view  to  reform  the 
abuses  then  prevalent  both  in  Church  and 
State:  and  the  whole  matter  ends  with  the 
punishment  of  the  Vices.  It  took  nine  hours  to 
perform,  which  certainly  speaks  volumes  for  the 
patience  of  the  audience.  Two  meal  hours  were 
included  in  this  time,  and  if  the  auditors  fol- 
lowed out  the  advice  of  the  messenger  who 
announced  the  play, 

**  With  gude  stark  wynne  your  flaconnis  see 
ye  fill,'* 

they  probably  did  not  limit  this  part  of  their 
refreshment  to  the  stated  intervals. 


INTRODUCTORY.  29 

In  connection  with  the  Moralities,  a  quaint 
item  exists  in  the  records  of  the  Town  Council 
of  Edinburgh  of  1554,  where  the  Treasurer  is 
ordered  to  pay:  — 

"  to  Walter  Bynning  five  lib  for  making  of 
the  playground,  painting  the  hand  scenes  and 
the  players  faces,  and  for  preserving  so  as 
to  be  forthcoming  to  the  town  when  required, 
8  play  hats,  a  king's  crown,  a  mitre,  a  fooFs; 
head,  a  foxis,  a  pair  of  angel's  wings,  two 
angels'  hair  and  a  chaplet  of  triumph." 

Surely  here  is  an  outfit  comprehensive 
enough  to  satisfy  the  most  celestially-minded 
mortal  I 

That  farces  did  exist  about  this  period  can 
only  remain  matter  for  conjecture.  In  Sir 
David  Lyndsay's  Complaynt  of  the  Papyngo, 
a  record  of  the  most  distinguished  poets  of 
Scotland,  he  speaks  of  Sir  James  IngHs :  — 

**Quho  can  say  more  than  schir  James  Inglis  sayis 
In  ballates,  farsis  and  in  plesand  playis." 

Upon  this  Warton  writes:  — 

**  I  know  nothing  of  Sir  James  Inglis  or 
of  his  ballads,  farces,  and  pleasant  plays. 


30  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

But  one  John  Inglis  was  master  of  a  company 
of  players,  as  we  have  before  seen  at  the 
marriage  of  James  IV.  Here  is  a  proof, 
however,  that  theatrical  representations  were 
now  in  high  repute  in  the  court  of  Scotland." 

Returning  to  the  Robin  Hood  plays,  they 
gradually  became  a  very  popular  institution. 
It  was  the  custom  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  May 
for  the  public  to  assemble  together  under  the 
patronage  of  their  magistrates  to  assist  at  the 
frolics  of  the  famous  outlaw.  In  this  month, 
too,  the  young  maidens  and  children  had  their 
May  Queen  celebration,  the  occasion  of  much 
singing  and  dancing.  Against  these  the  Parlia- 
ment of  1555  issued  a  summary  objection  by 
which  they  declared  (Mary,  VI.,  cap.  61) 
that  if  any  provost,  bailies,  council,  or  com- 
munity chose  personages  such  as  Robin  Hood, 
Little  John,  Abbot  of  Unreason  or  Queen  of 
May,  they  should  lose  their  freedom  for  five 
years,  and  that  if  any  women,  by  singing  about 
summer  trees  made  perturbation  to  the  queen's 
lieges,  they  should  be  put  upon  the  cuk-stool 
of  the  burgh  or  town. 

The   thirty  years   that   followed   upon   this 


INTRODUCTORY.  31 

eventful  one  were  fruitful  in  change.  Mystery- 
plays  fell  into  disrepute,  and  the  Moralities 
became  the  common  form  of  entertainment. 
The  General  Assembly  of  i  5  7  5,  in  an  endeavour 
to  stamp  out  what  they  considered  godless 
entertainments,  enjoined  that  no  clerk-plays  or 
comedies  based  upon  the  canonical  Scriptures 
should  be  acted  either  upon  Sabbath  or 
work-days,  and  that  profane  plays  should  be 
examined  before  they  were  exhibited,  and  in 
no  case  on  Sabbath.  The  Bailie  of  Dunferm- 
line (1576)  craved  leave  from  the  Assembly 
to  perform  a  play  on  Sunday,  but  permission 
was  refused  (vide  Book  of  Universal  Kirk).  If 
one  may  conclude  from  authoritative  evidence, 
the  moral  condition  of  the  people  was  then  at 
the  lowest  ebb.  *'  Universally,"  says  the 
Assembly,  **  throughout  the  realm  there  is 
neither  religion  nor  discipline  with  the  poor, 
but  the  most  part  live  in  filthy  adultery,  incest, 
fornication ;  their  children  are  unbaptised,  and 
they  themselves  never  resort  to  the  church  nor 
participate  in  the  Sacrament."  As  an  offset 
against  this,  we  must  remember  that  the 
peasantry  of  that  period  were  miserably  poor. 


32  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

and,  as  a  natural  result,  their  poverty  coloured 
their  morality,  or  rather  the  hygienic  and 
sanitary  quality  of  their  environment  was  not 
conducive  to  that  morality  which  is  the  high 
prerogative  of  the  comfortably-housed  and 
clad. 

A  pretty  side-light  is  thrown  upon  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  worthy  Knox  by  an  entry  which 
appears  in  the  Diary  of  James  Melville,  under 
date  1571. 

**  This  yeir  in  the  monthe  of  July  Mr. 
Jhone  Davidsone  one  of  our  Regents  maid 
a  play  at  the  marriage  of  John  Colvin  quhilk 
I  saw  playit  in  Mr.  Knox  presence,  wherein 
according  to  Mr.  Knox  doctrine  the  castell 
of  Edinbruche  was  beseiged  and  takin  and 
the  Captain  with  an  or  twa  with  him  hangit 
in  effigie." 

The  Davidson  referred  to  was  Regent  in 
St.  Leonard's  College,  Aberdeen,  and  had 
written  a  few  plays  of  a  similar  character.  His 
last  satire  had  an  unfortunate  result.  Having 
directed  it  against  the  Regent  Morton,  this 
dignitary  took  summary  vengeance  upon  him 
by  ordering  his  banishment  from  the  realm. 


2  c 


h-:   W' j> 


INTRODUCTORY.  33 

Whatever  obstacles  may  have  been  placed 
in  the  way  of  public  enterprise  in  this  direction, 
no  opposition  was  offered  to  private  amuse- 
ments, provided  the  individuals  interested  were 
aristocratic  enough.  To  cross  over  the  Border 
for  a  moment,  we  are  reminded  of  the  entertain- 
ment which  was  given  at  Kenilworth  Castle  in 
honour  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  an  interesting 
account  of  which  is  given  by  Scott  in  Kenil- 
worth. Robert  Laneham  in  one  of  his  letters 
describes  it  thus:  — 

**  The  pageant  of  *  The  Lady  of  the 
Floating  Island  '  was  perfonned;  the  raft  on 
which  she  came  landed  at  Mortimer's  Tower, 
where  accompanied  by  her  attendants  she 
presented  herself  to  the  Queen,  delivering  an 
address  of  homage,  duty,  and  welcome  to  the 
peerless  Elizabeth.  Next  appears  Arion  on 
his  dolphin  from  amongst  the  other  maritime 
deities.  The  facetious  Lambourne,  who  had 
taken  up  the  part  in  the  absence  of  Wayland, 
being  chilled  through  remaining  immersed 
for  such  a  long  time  and  having  forgotten  his 
speech,  tore  off  his  vizard  and  swore  '  Cogs 
bones !  he  was  none  of  Arion  or  Orion  either, 
but  honest  Mike  Lambome,  that  had  been 


34  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

drinking  her  Majesty's  health  till  midnight, 
and  was  come  to  bid  her  heartily  welcome  to 
Kenilworth  Castle.'  The  Queen  laughed 
heartily,  and  swore  in  her  turn  that  he  had 
made  the  best  speech  she  had  heard  that  day. 
Lamborne,  who  instantly  saw  his  jest  had 
saved  his  bones,  jumped  on  shore,  gave  his 
dolphin  a  kick,  and  declared  that  he  would 
never  meddle  with  fish  again,  except  at 
dinner.'* 

That  the  censorship  created  by  Act  of 
Assembly,  1575,  did  not  lie  dormant  is  evinced 
by  an  application  which  was  made  for  a  licence 
by  a  company  of  comedians  at  the  Perth  Kirk 
Sessions.  This  was  granted  by  a  decree  of  date 
3rd  June,  1589,  provisionally  that  **  nae  swear- 
ing nor  nae  scurrility  shall  be  spoken,"  and  that 
nothing  should  be  added  to  the  register  of  the 
play  itself. 

Amidst  the  obvious  laxity  of  the  people  in 
the  matter  of  morals,  as  understood  by  the 
General  Assembly,  royalty  was  not  altogether 
devoid  of  its  lapses  from  the  conventions  so 
decreed.  An  extract  from  Sir  Anthony 
Weldon's  Secret  History  relating  to  the  court 
of  James  IV.  states:  — 


INTRODUCTORY.  35 

'*  After  the  king  supped,  he  would  come 
forth  to  see  pastimes  and  fooleries  in  which 
Sir  Edward  Zouch,  Sir  George  Goring  and 
Sir  John  Flint  were  the  chief  and  master  fools 
— and  surely  the  fooling  got  them  more  than 
any  others'  wisdom — sometimes  presenting 
David  Droman  and  Archie  Armstrong,  the 
king's  fool,  on  the  back  of  other  fools,  to 
tilt  one  another  till  they  fell  together  by  the 
ears.  Sometimes  they  performed  antick 
dances.  But  Sir  John  Millicent,  who  was 
never  known  before,  was  commended  for 
notable  fooling  and  was  indeed  the  best 
extempore  fool  of  them  all." 

With  the  regal  countenance  given  to 
theatrical  displays  and  pageantries,  it  became 
a  very  difficult  matter  for  the  Church  to  repress 
such  practices.  For  more  than  thirty  years 
after  the  Reformation,  the  General  Assemblyi 
had  vainly  appealed  to  the  Civil  Authorities  to 
interfere.  The  chief  obstacle  to  the  successful 
enforcement  of  such  enactments  lay  in  their 
midst,  and  consisted  in  the  fact  that  the  elders 
and  deacons  of  the  Kirk  generally  presided  over 
them.  Pageants,  too,  were  very  popular  in 
those     days.     Royalty     being     received     with 


36  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

pompous  displays  in  the  principal  towns. 
When  James  V.  was  married  to  Mary  of 
Lorraine  (or  Guise)  in  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Andrews,  by  David  Beaton,  a  triumphal 
arch  was  erected  at  the  entrance  of  the  Abbey, 
and  at  the  New  Gate  a  Masque  was  designed 
by  Sir  David  Lyndsay.  It  represented  a  fair 
Lady  descending  from  a  cloud  and  handing  the 
keys  of  the  city  to  the  bride,  in  token  that  all 
hearts  in  Scotland  were  open  to  her.  The 
Queen  made  a  pretty  speech  to  her  husband 
on  the  morrow  in  which  she  said  "  she  never 
saw  in  France  so  many  good  faces  in  so  little 
room,  as  she  saw  that  day  in  Scotland." 

Pageants  of  this  character  did  not  always 
boast  of  perfect  stage  management.  An  in- 
teresting critique  of  one  of  those  functions 
exists  in  Nugce  Antiqce,  I.  (349-51).  Of  this. 
Sir  John  Harrington  writes:  — 

"  I  have  much  marvelled  at  these  stage 
pageantries,  and  they  do  bring  to  my 
remembrance  what  passed  of  this  sort  in  our 
queen's  days,  of  which  I  was  some  time  an 
humble  presenter  and  assistant,  but  I  did 
never  see  such  lack  of  good  order,  discretion 
and  sobriety  as  I  have  now  done." 


•ERKOR.MINC.    HORSK. 
(.MS.  Bodh'hi,  264; 


See  page  86. 


JOITCS. 
Culprit  found  playing  Robin  Hood  i^tood 
at  kirkyard  gate  with  the  iron  collar 
padlocked   round   his   neck.      From 
Galashiels  (i6th  century). 

{Natio7tal  Museum  of  Scottish 
Antiquities,  J 


STOOL  OF  RKi'K.NTANCE. 

From  Old  (ireyfriars  Church,  Edinburgh. 

For  women  found  playing  May  Queen 

(i6th  century). 
Decree  of  Scottish  Parliament,  1555  a.d. 

(National  Museum  of  Scottish 
Antigttities.) 


See  page  30, 


INTRODUCTORY.  37 

Then  follows  his  comment  upon  the  rdception 
of  the  Royal  Danes,  the  friends  of  James  VI., 
whose  wife  was  Anne  of  Denmark. 

**  One  day  a  great  feast  was  held,  and  after 
dinner  the  representation  of  Solomon,  his 
temple,  and  the  coming  of  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  was  made.  The  lady  who  did  play 
the  Queen's  part  did  carry  most  precious  gifts 
to  both  their  majesties,  but,  forgetting  the 
steps  arising  to  the  canopy,  overset  her 
caskets  into  his  Danish  majesty's  lap,  and  fell 
at  his  feet  although  I  rather  think  it  was  on 
his  face.  Much  was  the  hurry  and  confusion: 
cloths  and  napkins  were  at  hand  to  make  all 
clean.  His  majesty  then  got  up  and  would 
dance  with  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  but  he  fell 
down  and  humbled  himself  before  her,  and 
was  carried  to  an  inner  chamber  and  laid  on 
a  bed  of  state.  Now  did  appear  in  rich  dress 
Hope,  Faith  and  Charity.  Hope  did  essay 
to  speak,  but  wine  rendered  her  endeavours 
so  feeble  that  she  withdrew,  and  hoped  the 
king  would  excuse  her  brevity.  Faith  was 
then  alone,  for  I  am  certain  she  was  not 
joined  with  good  works,  and  left  the  Court 
in  a  staggering  condition.  Charity  came  to 
the  king's  feet,  and  seemed  to  cover  the 
multitude  of  sins  her  sisters  had  committed ; 


38  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

in  some  sort,  she  made  obeisance  and  brought 
gifts,  but  said  she  would  return  home  again, 
as  there  was  no  gift  which  heaven  had  not 
already  given  to  His  Majesty.  She  then 
returned  to  Hope  and  Faith,  who  were  both 
sick." 

The  letter  ends  somewhat  caustically. 

**  Now  did  Peace  make  entry  and  strive 
to  get  foremost  to  the  king;  but  I  grieve  to 
tell  how  great  wrath  she  did  discover  unto 
those  of  her  attendants:  and  how,  much 
contrary  to  her  semblance,  most  rudely  made 
war  with  her  olive  branch,  and  laid  on  the 
pates  of  those  who  opposed  her  coming.** 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS  3? 


CHAPTER    n. 

THE   ABERDEEN    REVELS. 

Having  thus  cursorily  dealt  with  many  of  the 
outstanding  features  incidental  to  the  intro- 
duction of  drama  in  Scotland,  our  purpose  will 
best  be  served  by  tracing  its  growth  through 
the  history  of  some  of  the  leading  towns,  such 
as  Aberdeen,  Dundee,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow, 
places  which,  by  reason  of  their  position  and 
importance,  have  been  identified  with  the  drama 
in  its  progress  from  its  nondescript  beginning  to 
the  present  questionable  position  it  occupies  as 
a  hybrid  product  defying  description,  and  which 
is  neither  classical  enough  to  be  literary  nor 
important  enough  to  be  intellectual. 

Two  eminences  on  the  outskirts  of  Aberdeen 
bore  the  name  of  the  Windmill  Hills :  one  still 
retains  that  title,  but  the  other  is  known  as  the 
Porthill.  Both  provided  a  rising  slope,  which' 
was  admirably  adapted  for  the  purposes  of 
dramatic    representation.      Shortly    after    the 


40  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

year  1440,  plays  were  performed  on  the 
west  (Side,  known  as  the  Playfield.  Standing 
as  it  did,  immediately  to  the  west  of 
Woolmanhill,  and  surrounded  by  hilly  ground, 
it  formed  an  excellent  auditorium.  In  the  year 
1440  a  leader  was  appointed  to  conduct  the 
sports,  and  was  named  the  Abbot  and  Prior 
of  Bon-Accord.  The  fee  paid  to  this  individual 
was  fixed  by  Municipal  Statute  (5th  September, 
1442)  at  £8  6s.  8d.  Scots. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  of  interest  to  note 
that  Mr.  G.  M.  Fraser,  Librarian  to  the 
Aberdeen  Public  Library,  considers  that  the 
origin  of  the  Burgh  Arms  motto,  "  Bon- 
Accord  "  (good  fellowship)  will  be  found  in 
the  Miracle -plays  which  came  into  vogue  when 
the  motto  was  adopted.  These  Miracle-plays^ 
which  had  degenerated  into  unseemly  revels, 
were  under  the  charge  of  the  Abbot,  who  was 
appointed  by  the  Town  Council.  The  use  of 
**  Bon- Accord  "  in  this  sense,  and  the  adoption 
of  it  as  the  Burgh  Coat  of  Arms  about  1430, 
were  practically  simultaneous. 

The  first  drama  of  which  we  have  any. 
satisfactory  evidence  was,  as  has  already  been 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.  41 

stated,  the  Mystery  of  The  tfaly  Blade,  per- 
formed circa  1440  at  the  Porthill.  Exhibitions 
of  the  Mysteries  were  sometimes  given  at 
the  churches  also.  The  play  usually  lasted 
eight  or  nine  hours,  and  occasionally  it  would 
take  two  or  three  days  to  complete  a  representa- 
tion. The  strain  of  dramatic  suspense  was 
relieved  by  the  introduction  of  pious  speeches 
and  ribald  dialogue. 

Amongst  the  principal  of  those  early  plays 
may  be  mentioned  Candlemas  Day,  in  which 
appear  Herod,  Joseph,  Mary,  Simeon,  Anna,  the 
angels,  and  soldiers.  The  Conversion  of  Saul 
included  the  Deity,  Saul,  Ananias,  Caiaphas, 
Belial,  Mercury,  priests,  poets,  and  knights. 

But  the  best  of  these  forerunners  of  our 
modern  drama  was  Mary  Magdalene,  of  which 
a  synopsis  may  be  useful  as  depicting  the  char- 
acter of  the  Mystery-play.  Lazarus,  Martha, 
and  Mary  are  the  children  of  King  Syrus,  who, 
previous  to  his  death,  divided  his  possessions 
amongst  them.  Mary,  who  is  endowed  with 
such  beauty  and  virtue  as  to  endanger  hell, 
inherits  a  castle,  which  is  laid  siege  to  by  the 
Seven  Deadly  Sins.  She  sets  out  for  Jerusalem 
4 


42  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

with  a  servant,  who  has  assumed  the  name  of 
Luxury  but  whose  real  name  is  Lechery.  They 
arrive  at  a  tavern,  where  the  best  of  wine  is 
set  before  them.  To  them  enters  a  gallant 
named  Curiosity,  and,  after  a  dance  in  which 
she  joins  with  him,  Mary  falls  into  his  power. 
At  her  fall,  all  the  devils  in  hell  rejoice:  Then 
a  good  angel  comes  to  her.  She  meets  the 
great  prophet  Jesus  in  the  house  of  Simon  the 
leper,  confesses  her  sin,  and,  in  her  depth  of 
penitence,  washes  his  feet  with  her  tears,  and 
wipes  them  with  her  hair.  Jesus  tells  her  to 
go  in  peace,  upon  which,  according  to  the  stage 
direction,  the  seven  devils  leave  her,  and  the 
bad  angels  **  enter  into  hell  with  thunder.'* 
Thereupon  Satan  summons  his  deadly  council, 
and,  questioning  the  evil  spirit  as  to  why  he 
suffered  Mary  to  break  her  bonds,  he  inflicts 
upon  him  and  the  seven  devils  a  severe 
castigation  for  their  carelessness.  The  death 
and  raising  of  Lazarus,  and  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ  are  next  dramatised,  after 
which  Mary  is  instructed  by  the  angel  Raphael 
to  proceed  to  Marseilles  to  convert  the  king 
of  the  country.     '*  Here  enters  a  ship  with  a 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.  43 

merrie  song,"  and,  while  they  are  striking  sails 
and  weighing  anchor,  an  indecent  conversation 
takes  place  between  the  shipman  and  his  boy. 
Mary  bargains  with  them  to  take  her  to 
Marseilles,  and  they  proceed  thither.  After 
many  signs  and  miracles,  the  king  is  converted, 
and  enjoined  to  proceed  to  the  Holy  Land  to 
be  baptised  by  Peter,  which  is  finally  accom- 
plished. Mary  then  retires  into  the  wilderness, 
where  she  is  guarded  by  angels  and  fed  with 
manna;  and,  after  several  visits  from  an  old 
priest,  she  is  received  up  into  heaven.  In  con- 
clusion, the  priest  appears  upon  the  stage,  and, 
after  making  a  speech,  calls  on  the  clerks  **  with 
voices  clear  "  to  sing  a  Te  Deum,  and  so  the 
curtain  drops. 

From  the  number  of  characters  introduced, 
the  varied  scenes  in  which  they  appear, 
and  the  detailed  stage  directions  given,  one 
would  imagine  that  a  very  extensive  ward- 
robe and  a  very  complete  scenic  apparatus 
would  be  required  for  the  representation  of  such 
a  piece.  The  scenes  open  in  Bethany,  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  Marseilles :  a  vessel  is  tossed 
upon  the  sea;  now  we  are  in  heaven,  anon  in 


44  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

hell,  and  a  multitude  of  other  places  beside. 
One  direction  reads:  "  Here  shall  enter  the 
prince  of  devils  in  a  stage  and  hell  underneath,'* 
and  it  seems  the  mode  of  representation  was  by 
a  monstrous  mouth  with  a  movable  jaw,  which, 
when  opened,  shewed  flames  within.  Into  this 
devouring  maw  the  devils  sank  to  "  their  fellows 
black."  Another  direction  reads:  **  Here  shall 
two  angels  descend  into  the  wilderness,  and 
other  2  shall  bring  an  oble  (a  kind  of  wafer- 
cake),  openly  appearing  aloft  in  the  clouds: 
the  two  beneath  shall  bring  Mary,  and  she  shall 
receive  the  bread,  then  go  into  the  wilderness.*' 
Despite  those  directions,  there  is  no  evidence 
to  show  that  the  stage  appurtenances  were 
otherwise  than  of  a  crude  nature,  the  effects 
being  chiefly  produced  by  the  imagination  of 
the  auditors. 

I  regret  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  procure 
any  illustration  of  the  performance  of  an 
Aberdeen  Mystery-play,  but  the  accompanying; 
illustration  is  offered  as  typical  of  the  manner  of 
their  presentation.  It  is  an  ingenious  restora- 
tion of  the  pageant  of  the  Smiths  Company  of 
Coventry,  and  may  be  dated  about  1469.    The 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.         45 

pageant  in  question  was  presented  in  various 
parts  of  the  town  by  means  of  a  travelling  stage. 
The  waggon  was  wheeled  about  from  station 
to  station.  At  the  moment  of  the  illustration, 
it  has  been  set  up  near  the  Cross  in  the  Cross- 
cheaping.  The  armed  guard  in  front  will  be 
noted  keeping  the  street  crowd  in  order. 
Seated  in  the  foreground  will  be  noted  the  men 
who  drew  the  vehicle  from  each  station.  Three 
minstrels  and  a  carpenter  are  sprawling  in 
front.  Actors  who  complain  of  the  self-impor- 
tance of  the  modem  stage  carpenter  will  note 
that  his  uppishness  is  not  without  some 
historical  warrant.  The  play  is  a  Passion- 
play,  and  Pilate  is  shown  washing  his  hands. 
Annas  and  Caiaphas  can  be  seen  in  mitres  on 
the  right  hand  side.  This  waggon  had  two 
stories,  the  lower  serving  as  a  dressing-room. 

The  municipal  edict  of  1442  called  upon  all 
craftsmen  to  appear  annually  **  at  the  offerand 
of  our  Lady  at  Candlemas,"  and  directed  what 
each  Guild  should  supply.  "  The  littstaris 
(dyers)  sail  fynd  The  Emperour  and  twa 
Doctours  and  alsmony  honeste  squiares  as  thai 
may.     The  Smythis  and  Hamermen  sail  fynd 


46  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

The  Three  Kings  of  Culane  (Cologne),"  etc., 
etc, 

A  decree  of  30th  April,  1445,  set  forth  that 
no  fees  be  given  to  the  Abbot  of  Bon-Accord, 
but  that  the  Alderman  and  a  Bailie  whom  he 
shall  name  will  supply  **  That  faute."  During" 
the  subsequent  years,  a  good  deal  of  dissension 
seems  to  have  existed  upon  the  question  of 
expenses,  as  may  be  gathered  from  such  resolu- 
tions of  the  Town  Council  as  the  following :  — 

2 1  St  May,  1479. — The  Council  and  brethren 
of  the  Guild  being  present  ordain  the  Alderman 
to  make  the  expenses  and  cost  of  the  common 
good  upon  the  *'  arrayment  and  uthris  neces- 
saris  of  the  Play  at  Corpus  Christi." 

1st  February,  1484. — Alderman  and  Council 
ordain  that  all  the  Craftsmen  bear  their 
"  takyinis  of  thare  craft  upon  thare  beristis  ** 
on  Candlemas  Day.  Whoever  contravened  this 
bye-law  forfeited  the  freedom  of  the  town  for 
a  year. 

7th  August,  i486. — The  Alderman,  Bailies 
and  Council  grantit  to  John  of  Culane,  in  lieu 
of  fee  the  time  he  was  Abbot  of  Bon-Accord, 
to    be   admitted   a   burgess   of   guild.      (This 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.  47 

privilege  could  be  procured  upon  payment  of 
£4  Scots.) 

1 7th  August,  1 49 1 .— Andro  Culane,  younger, 
Abbot  of  Bon-Accord,  applies  for  his  fee,  and 
Alderman  and  Council  in  reply  say  they  have 
no  money  to  pay  him. 

8th  May,  1496. — Thos.  Leslie  and  Robert  of 
Culane  are  chosen  conjointly  Abbot  and  Prior 
of  Bon-Accord,  and  the  Council  promise  to  pay 
them  five  merks  upon  that  date  twelve  months 
hence. 

An  interesting  item  with  regard  to  the 
minstrels  who  took  part  in  the  ceremony  is 
found  in  the  Council  Register  for  28th  January, 
1500- 

*'  The  said  day  it  was  statut,  ordainit  and 
grantit  be  the  alderman,  balyeis  and  maist 
part  of  the  consal  and  communitie  present 
for  the  tyme  that  Jonhe  and  Robert,  thar 
comone  menstralis,  sal  have  resonabile  diets 
sevralie  throw  the  nichtbours  of  the  towne: 
And  gif  ony  persoun,  or  personis  refuss  to 
resave  thame  to  thar  dietis,  it  sal  be  lesum 
to  thame  to  gif  to  the  said  menstralis  xij 
the  day  bat  (both)  for  meat,  drink,  and  wagis 
for  simple  folks." 


48  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

That  the  Candlemas  Day  functions  did  not 
always  pass  off  without  some  contretemps  the 
Council  Records  also  testify.  One  item,  under 
date  2nd  February,  i  502,  tells  how  **  John  Rob 
Wobstar  "  and  eight  others  were  convicted  of 
having  on  Candlemas  Day  usurped  the  usual 
place  of  the  tailors.  But  evidently  this  was  not 
the  only  occasion  upon  which  the  rules  of 
precedence  had  been  broken.  On  30th  January, 
I  505,  the  Council  found  it  necessary  to  make  a 
record  of  the  rules :  — 

**  A  decree  in  honour  of  God  and  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  craftsmen  '  kepit 
and  decorit  '  the  procession  on  Candlemas 
Day  yearly — And  thai  sail  in  order  to  the 
Offering  in  the  Play,  pass  tha  and  ij  togidir 
socialie:  in  the  first  the  flesshoris,  barbouris, 
baxturis,  cordinaris,  skinneris,  couparis, 
wrichtis,  hat  makers  and  bonat  maker  togidir, 
walcaris,  litstaris,  wobstaris,  tailyeouris, 
goldsmiths,  blacksmithis  and  hamermen; 
and  the  craftsmen  sale  furnys  the  Pageants, 
the  cordinaris  the  Messing;  the  wobstaris 
and  walcaris,  Symeon ;  the  smyths  and  gold- 
smiths iij  Kingis  of  Cullane ;  the  litstaris,  the 


SHOWINC;    HOW  THE   OLD   MYSTERY   PLAY   WAS 
PERFORMED    IN    THE    STREETS    {Circa    1469   a.d.). 


See  page  44. 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.  49 

Emperour ;  the  masons,  the  Thrie  Knichtis ; 
the  talyours,  Our  Lady,  Sanct  B rid  and  Sanct 
Elene;  the  skyners,  the  Tua  Bischopis,  and 
tua  of  ilka  craft  to  pass  with  the  Pageant 
that  thai  furnys  to  keip  thair  geir,  and  gif 
ony  persone  or  persounes  happinis  to  failye 
and  brek  ony  poynte  before  writing,  and  beis^ 
convict  thereof  (he)  sale  pay  xl  sh.  to 
Sanct  Nicholas  work  and  the  balyeis  unlaw 
unforgevin." 

A  further  decree  of  i6th  May,  1507,  was 
directed  towards  the  training  of  the  youthful 
citizens,  and  commanded  that  **  all  manner  of 
youth  burgess  and  burgess  sons  should  be  ready 
every  holiday  to  pass  with  Abbot  and  Prior  of 
Bon-Accord." 

A  highly  interesting  account  of  those 
ceremonies  is  furnished  by  Mr.  Joseph  Robert- 
son in  his  Book  of  Bon-Accord.  He  is  speaking 
of  the  Candlemas  Day  pageants. 

'*  The  Emperor  who  appears  in  the 
spectacle  of  1442,  was  probably  Augustus, 
and  he  differed  little,  perhaps,  from  the 
monarch  who,  in  the  procession  which  wel- 
comed Queen  Margaret  in  1 5 1 1,  was  figured 


50  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

*  .    .    .   rydand  under  croun 
Richt  awfull,  Strang  and  large  of  portra- 
tour.      As    nobill,    dreidfull   michtie 
campioun.' 

The  '  Doctors,'  it  may  be  conjectured,  were 
representatives  of  the  Jewish  sages  with 
whom  Christ  disputed  in  the  Temple.  The 
*  Three  Kings  of  Culane  '  are  the  same  with 
the  personages  commemorated  by  Dunbar  in 
The  Queen's  Reception. 

*  And  syne  thou  gart  the  Orient  kingis  thrie 
Offer  to  Chryst  with  benyng  reverence 
Gold,  sence  and  mir  with  all  humilitie 
Schawand  him  King  with  most  magnifi- 
cence.' 

The  eldest,  Melchior,  who  appeared  bowed 
down  with  years,  and  wearing  a  long  beard, 
offered  gold:  frankincense  was  the  gift  of 
Gasper,  who  was  represented  as  a  beardless 
youth,  and  Balthasar,  who  presented  myrrh, 
was  figured  as  a  gigantic  Moor  or  Negro, 
with  a  large  flowing  beard.  I  cannot  offer 
any  explanation  of  the  group  of  The  Virgin, 
St.  Bride  or  Bridget,  St.  Helen  and  Joseph; 
the  latter  personage  was  beHeved  to  be 
advanced  in  age  and  of  a  crabbed  temper. 
St.    Bridget,    who    flourished    in    the    14th 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.         51 

century,  was  designated  Sponsa  Christi,  and 
her  book  of  revelation  was  held  in  great 
esteem.  .  .  .  Moses  was  generally  depicted 
with  horns — an  irreverent  absurdity,  arising, 
from  an  error  in  the  vulgate  translation  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  Brethren  of  the  Guild 
were  charged  with,  it  is  likely,  the  most  costly, 
part  in  the  show,  the  Knights  in  armour; 
and  the  Bakers  were  burthened  with  the 
provision  of  the  Minstrels  who,  as  we  gather 
from  Dunbar,  were  dispersed  through  the 
pageants  '  blowing  to  the  sky.'  " 

In  I  508  the  Abbot  and  the  Prior  gave  way 
to  Robyne  Hood  and  Utile  Johnne.  In  May 
of  that  year  it  was  ordained  that  *'  al  personis 
that  ar  abill  within  this  burghe  salbe  reddy  with 
their  arrayment  made  in  grene  and  yallow, 
bowis,  arrowis,  and  all  other  convenient  things 
according  thairto  to  pass  with  Robin  Huyd  and 
Litile  Johnne  all  times  convenient  thairto, 
quhair  thai  be  the  saidis  Robyne  and  Litile 
Johnne." 

The  due  observance  of  this  was  enforced  by 
a  law,  which  ordained  that  all  defaulters  should 
pay  2 OS.  to  **  Sanct  Nicholas  werk  and  viij  sh. 
to  the  bailyesis  unlaw  unforgevin." 


52  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

In  Analecta  Scotlca  a  good  many  references 
are  made  to  the  appointment  of  the  two  town 
minstrels.  The  duty  of  these  dignitaries  was 
to  wake  up  the  town  at  5  A.M.  and  send  them 
to  rest  between  8  and  9  P.M.,  and  when  it  is 
known  that  these  officials  consisted  of  a 
drummer  and  a  piper,  the  manner  and  effect 
of  their  office  may  be  imagined  but  not 
described. 

Bon-Accord  Day  sometimes  brought  out  its 
dissentients.  On  21st  May,  1538,  John  and 
Robert  Arthur  were  sentenced  to  appear  in  the 
church  of  St.  Nicholas  with  bare  feet  and  wax 
candles  in  their  hands,  and  publicly  to  beg 
pardon  of  the  Provost  and  Magistrates  of 
Aberdeen  for  having  troubled  the  Lords  of 
Bon- Accord  by  preventing  dancing. 

The  year  1555  (June  20th)  saw  the 
extinction  of  Robin  Hood  and  Little  John 
plays  by  Act  of  Parliament,  but  not  without 
protest.  Riots  in  connection  with  their  sup- 
pression became  very  frequent  in  Aberdeen,  as 
well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Despite 
this,  the  officials  were  determined  to  carry  out 
the  law.     On  4th  May,  i  562,  the  drummer  and 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.  S3 

bellman  were  both  convicted  of  contravening, 
this  Act,  and  sentenced  to  appear  in  the  Parish 
Church  on  the  Sunday,  and,  after  the  preaching, 
grant  that  the  said  offence  was  done  through 
ignorance,  and  upon  their  knees  ask  God's  and 
the  congregation's  forgiveness. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  presence  of 
the  King  could  provide  sufficient  warrant  for 
a  change  in  law,  not  to  say  morality,  and  that 
by  one  of  those  curious  obsessions  which  history 
never  explains. 

On  13th  May,  1580,  runs  the  decree:  — 

**  The  Inhabitants  are  informed  that  the 
King  is  soon  to  visit  the  Burgh,  and  that, 
as  on  such  occasions  it  had  been  usual  to 
show  their  joy  by  farseis,  playeis,  histories, 
antics  and  other  decorations,  3000  merks  be 
granted  to  make  preparations  of  a  similar 
character." 

A  company  of  players,  recommended  by  His 
Majesty's  Special  Letter,  visited  Aberdeen  in. 
October  of  1601.  They  performed  comedies 
and  other  plays,  and  were  presented  by  the 
Provost,  Bailies,  and  Council  with  33  merks — 
(35s.    6d.).     On   22nd  October,  the  freedom 


54  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  the  Burgh  was  presented  to  Lawrence 
Fletcher,  comedian  to  His  Majesty. 

Reverting  to  the  Playfield,  the  last  account 
of  this  is  given  in  the  Council  Register  for 
May  13,  1635,  where,  under  the  title  of 
•*  Licence  grantit  to  Jamesounce,"  permission  is 
granted  to  George  Jamieson  to  renew  and  repair 
the  Playfield,  better  known  as  "  The  Garden 
Neuk  Well,"  in  which  comedies  were  **  wont 
to  be  actit  of  auld,"  the  annual  rent  to  be  3s.  4d. 
Scots. 

An  Edinburgh  company  of  actors  travelled 
up  to  Aberdeen  in  1745 — the  Canongate 
Theatre  then  being  in  process  of  re-building — 
but  the  Aberdeen  clergy  and  magistrates  for- 
bade their  playing,  so  we  must  assume  they 
trudged  away,  sorely  hipped. 

In  1 75 1,  the  Edinburgh  company  made 
another  bid  for  Aberdeen  favours,  Mrs.  Ward 
bringing  a  section  of  the  company  from  the 
Canongate  Theatre,  but  again  the  magistrates 
and  clergy  refused  permission  to  act  within  the 
city.  Still  undaunted  in  their  determination  to 
let  Aberdeen  see  what  players  could  do,  they 
erected    a    wooden    booth    outside    the    city 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.         55 

boundary  and  somewhere  in  the  Spittal,  but 
the  Aberdonians  refused  to  come  in  numbers 
sufficient  to  make  it  pay. 

William  Fisher,  a  daring  actor-manager, 
evidently  made  another  trial  in  1768,  fitting  up, 
a  hall  as  a  theatre  at  the  New  Inn,  corner  of 
Castle  and  King's  Streets.  But  he  had  soon 
to  put  up  the  shutters.  Young  Woodfall,  then 
a  stage-struck  youth,  who  was  to  found  the 
Morning  Advertiser  in  the  following  year, 
travelled  with  Fisher,  and  later  managed  to 
astonish  the  English  public  by  publishing  the 
Letters  of  Junius. 

The  would-be  great  John  Jackson,  in  1779, 
erected  a  theatre  in  Shoe  Lane,  where  Fisher 
and  his  company  acted.  West  Digges,  the  well- 
known  player  and  brief  lessee  of  the  Edinburgh 
Theatre,  was  practically  the  first  player  of  any 
distinction  to  appear  at  the  Shoe  Lane  house. 
Digges,  the  dandy,  was  said  to  be  a  natural 
son  of  the  second  Earl  Delawarr.  He  had 
begun  life  as  an  army  officer  in  the  North,  but 
fell  so  badly  into  debt  that  he  was  never  able  to 
liquidate.  Sheridan  had  given  him  a  chance 
to  prove  his  mettle  as  an  actor  in  1749,  so  that, 


56  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

as  the  profession  would  phrase  it,  after  thirty 
years'  experience,  he  might  be  said  to  be  fairly 
on  the  way  to  becoming  a  good  actor. 

It  was  he  who  originally  played  Young 
Norval  at  the  first  performance  of  Douglas, 
when  an  attempt  was  made  to  imprison  him  for 
debt,  though  he  managed  to  escape.  He 
became  the  husband  of  the  notorious  George 
Anne  Bellamy.  Digges  died  seven  years  later 
at  Cork,  where  his  remains  lie  in  the  Cathedral 
there.  His  Wolsey  and  Macbeth  were  his  most 
celebrated  parts. 

The  first  real  Aberdeen  playhouse  was  a 
small  one,  built  in  1780,  at  the  back  of  an  inn 
in  Queen  Street.  It  had  no  boxes,  prices  of 
admission  being  half-a-crown  to  the  pit  and 
IS.  6d.  to  the  gallery — the  earning  capacity 
with  a  full  house  being  £40,  and  it  is  rather 
creditable  to  the  fare  supplied  to  know  that 
receipts  never  went  below  £20. 

Aberdeen  had  its  gallery  boys  in  these  early 
days,  thus  forestalling  London.  In  the  centre 
of  the  second  row  of  benches  in  the  gallery  a 
chair  was  placed  for  a  daft  dominie  who  was 
known  as  *'  Mad  Sinclair."     Sinclair  led  the 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.         57 

'*  gods  "  at  will  in  applause^  or,  in  vaudeville 
parlance,  "giving  the  bird." 

Latterly  the  Queen  Street  Theatre  was 
converted  into  a  chapel  by  the  Rev.  Charles 
Chandler,  D.D.,  who  taught  **  ladies  and 
gentlemen  the  English  language,  both  at  homei 
and  abroad." 

Coachy's  Playhouse,  situate  in  Chronicle 
Lane,  sprang  up  about  this  time.  The  pro- 
prietor introduced  boxes,  and  started  the 
"  starring  "  system  in  Aberdeen,  but  he  was  too 
previous,  and  his  speculation  only  led  to  his 
ruin. 

The  story  of  the  playhouse  in  Aberdeen  does 
not  commence  consecutively  till  1795.  A  house 
in  Marischal  Street  was  turned  into  a  theatre, 
its  first  manager  being  Stephen  Kemble,  brother 
to  Mrs.  Siddons  and  to  four  actress  sisters  and 
three  actor  brothers,  of  whom  the  most  distin- 
guished was  the  famous  John  Philip  Kemble. 
Stephen  Kemble  started  his  career  in  Edinburgh 
in  what  proved  financially  stormy  times,  al- 
though Sir  Walter  Scott,  that  good  patron  of 
drama,  did  his  best  for  him.  At  length  he  threw 
up  his  venture  three  years  later,  and  took  the 
5 


58  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

road  North.  That  ambitious  man,  John  Jackson, 
surely  the  originator  of  all  theatre  syndicates, 
wanted  to  operate  a  circuit  that  would  include 
Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  Dundee,  and  Aberdeen, 
and  so  he  began  to  build  a  theatre  in  Marischal 
Street — the  West-end  of  that  day — but  his  plans 
came  to  an  end  with  his  money,  and  for  six 
years  the  place  stood  unfinished.  Those  who 
are  curious  about  John  Jackson,  actor-manager 
and  dramatist,  can  read  the  self-justification  of 
his  egotism  and  stuffy  pride  in  that  sadly  mis- 
named book,  The  History  of  the  Scottish  Stages 
Stephen  Kemble  got  into  touch  with  several 
supporters  of  the  drama  in  Aberdeen,  who 
formed  a  syndicate.  The  details  of  the  financial 
scheme  may  be  gathered  from  this  extract, 
derived  from  the  management  archives:  — 

"  Mr.  Kemble,  intending  to  purchase  the 
property  in  Marischal  Street  belonging  to 
Messrs.  Brebner  Gibb  &  Co.,  in  order  to 
finish  and  fit  it  up  as  a  theatre.  We,  the 
subscribers,  in  so  far  as  to  enable  him  to 
accomplish  this  scheme,  oblige  ourselves  each 
to  advance  the  sum  of  £20  sterling,  to  be 
applied  in  the  first  place  towards  defraying 
the  expense  of  roofing  in  the  theatre,  and  the 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.         59 

surplus  to  be  paid  over  to  Mr.  Kemble  how 
soon  the  inside  work  of  the  theatre  is, 
half  finished.  It  being  understood  that 
Mr.  Kemble  shall  give  each  subscriber  a 
gratis  ticket  for  admission  to  the  theatre 
during  each  season  of  performance,  trans- 
ferable at  pleasure." 

Kemble,  who  owned  a  circus  in  Edinburgh,  fol- 
lowed Burbage's  plan  at  the  Curtain  Theatre,  by; 
transferring  the  woodwork  of  that  building  to 
Aberdeen,  charging  the  Trust  £300;  so  they; 
chartered  a  freighting  vessel  from  an  Edinburgh 
agent,  and  had  the  wood  sent  on  to  Leith  by 
sea. 

The  building  cost  £3,000  to  construct,  and 
seated  600  persons,  the  price  for  boxes  being  3s., 
pit  2s.,  and  gallery  is.,  the  full  house  realising 
£65. 

Kemble  is  recorded  as  having  paid  his  rent 
for  seven  weeks'  occupation,  at  the  rate  of  ten 
guineas  per  week,  after  which  we  hear  no  more 
of  Kemble,  who,  we  suspect,  was  sadly  dis- 
illusioned about  the  possibilities  of  Aberdeen 
theatrical  business. 

During  the  next  few  years  there  is  little  to 
record  about  the  performances  in  this  building — 


60  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

the  subsequent  managers  evidently  had  failed 
to  pay  their  rents— and  the  syndicate,  becoming 
tired  of  their  theatre,  gave  instructions  for  its 
sale  by  auction  in  1 8 1 1 . 

John  Fraser  came  to  the  rescue  next  year, 
and  succeeded  in  securing  Corbett  Ryder  as  a 
tenant.  Ryder  held  the  lease  from  1817  till 
his  death  in  1842.  His  wife,  Jessie  Fraser, 
remarried,  one,  John  Pollock,  who  continued 
the  management  until  1854,  when  it  came  into 
the  hands  of  his  two  sons-in-law,  M'Neill  and 
Price. 

*'  Aberdeen  awa "  has  always  had  its 
enthusiastic  set  of  playgoers,  and  from  time  to 
time  during  the  periods  mentioned,  they  made 
it  financially  possible  for  such  stars  as  Kean, 
Helen  Faucit,  Macready,  Vandenhoff,  T.  P. 
Cooke,  G.  V.  Brooke,  Calvert,  and  Barry 
Sullivan  to  visit  the  Marischal  Street  house. 

Having  served  its  purpose  by  keeping  the 
Thespian  light  burning  in  the  chilly  North,  the 
building,  sanctified  by  the  memories  of  so  many 
stars,  was  sold  in  1875  to  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  at  less  than  half  its  original  cost. 

Aberdeen  harboured  one  London  dramatist 


THE  ABERDEEN  REVELS.         61 

at  least,  for  it  had  the  honour  of  a  visit  frojrei 
George  Colman  (the  younger),  who  spent 
some  time  at  King's  College,  attending  some 
of  the  lectures  there,  about  the  year  1780. 
In  his  Random  Records,  he  makes  the  town 
the  subject  of  some  very  caustic  remarks. 

If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  that 
stands  out  prominently  in  the  history  of 
Aberdeen,  it  is  the  love  of  its  citizens  for  all 
forms  of  pageantry.  Any  suspicion  that  may 
exist  as  to  the  prosaic  character  of  the  people  is 
quite  dispelled  by  an  examination  of  The  Book 
of  Bon-Accord,  and  we  could  hardly  bring  this 
chapter  to  a  fitter  conclusion  than  by  quoting 
the  following  extract:  — 

"  At  the  New  Year's  day  procession  the 
servants  and  apprentices  of  the  artificers  bore 
the  banners  and  symbols  of  their  trade. 
Every  craft  had  its  chaplain  with  Bible, 
flowing  peruke,  Geneva  cloak  and  bands,  and 
its  champion,  armed  to  the  teeth :  sometimes 
in  ancient  mail,  but  more  frequently  in  tin- 
plate  or  leather.  The  Hammermen  were 
preceded  by  a  grim  visaged  Vulcan,  grasping 
a  thunderbolt  and  drawn  in  a  chariot.  The 
shoemakers   were  headed  by   their  patron, 


62  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

St.  Crispin  (whom  they  advanced  to  the 
dignity  of  a  crown),  attended  by  a  number 
of  pages  becoming  his  high  rank.  Many  of 
the  young  men  wore  fantastic  dresses, 
amongst  which  the  most  favoured  was  that 
of  a  malignant  Turk.  An  attempt  to  abolish 
this  custom  in  the  year  1785  occasioned 
much  rioting,  and  several  persons  were 
incarcerated,  but,  wisely,  admitted  to  bail, 
the  mob  having  broken  the  windows  of  the 
Town  Hall.  On  the  8th  August,  1832,  they 
were  revived  to  celebrate  the  passing  of  the 
Reform  Act.  The  omnipotent  Vulcan 
brandished  his  tin  thunderbolts,  as  if  his 
office  was  not  to  forge  but  to  wield  them. 
The  sainted  Crispin,  in  a  chariot  drawn  by 
six  horses,  sat  in  royal  state  with  Earl  Grey 
on  one  hand,  and  Lord  Brougham  and  Vaux 
on  the  other. 

**  St.  Catherine  strutted  in  all  the  glory 
of  a  starched  ruff,  six  maids  of  honour,  and 
a  guard  of  archers.  The  Viscount  Althorp 
and  my  Lord  John  Russell  rode  sublime  on 
an  ancient  hackney  coach,  behind  which, 
mitre  on  head  and  in  full  pontificial  robes, 
walked  His  Grace  the  Lord  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  surrounded  by  the  implements 
and  emblems  of  the  art  of  cobbling  shoes." 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     63 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   ORIGIN   OF   DRAMA    IN   EDINBURGH. 

A  LEISURELY  examination  as  to  the  progress 
of  music  and  drama  in  the  Scots  capital  is  full 
of  interesting  restdts.  That  those  entrancing* 
arts  were  looked  upon  as  part  of  the  amenities, 
as  well  as  the  duties  of  life,  is  abundantly 
proved  by  the  rich  harvest  of  material  one  can 
gather  from  a  very  casual  gleaning  in  the 
regions  of  historical  sui*vey.  .  And  what  is 
perhaps  the  most  curious  part  of  the  study  is 
to  witness  the  constant  struggle  between  the 
natural  instinct  of  the  people  to  seek  out  their 
own  forms  of  pleasure,  and  the  religious 
fanaticism  which  (what  then  stood  for  the 
Nonconformist  conscience)  sought  to  stifle  the 
popular  aspiration  in  that  regard.  In  following 
out  this  study,  the  ethnographer  will  confirm 
his  experience  of  a  similar  process  of  evolution 
in  the  drama  of  the  other  European  races. 
Ever  and  anon  he  ^vill  discover  the   Church 


64  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

arising  in  jealous  zeal,  protesting  in  no  un- 
certain manner  against  the  popularity  of  its 
secular  rival.  Its  beginnings  may  be  traced  to 
a  religious  source,  which,  in  its  further  period 
of  development,  cuts  adrift  from  ecclesiastical 
guidance,  searching  out  a  path  native  to  its 
fullest  desires.  One  has  only  to  regard  the 
beginnings  of  French  drama,  to  find  that  what 
was  once  Scotland's  ally  pursued  an  almost 
similar  course  in  the  exploitation  of  its  dramatic 
art. 

The  early  period  of  Scots  history  will  never, 
at  any  time,  be  found  barren  in  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  the  drama  in  its  primary  form. 
We  have  already  traced  songs  and  ballads  back 
to  the  thirteenth  century.  James  I.  was  not 
only  a  poet,  but  was  also  well  accomplished' 
in  the  art  of  music,  besides  being  no  mean 
performer  on  the  harp.  His  Peblls  to  the  Play 
(printed  Edinburgh,  154^)  describes  many 
quaint  dances. 

Wedderburne  in  his  Complaynt  of  Scotland 
( I  549)  speaks  of  a  ring  dance  where  **  evyrie 
aid  scheipyrd  led  his  vyfe  and  evyrie  zong 
scheiperd  led  her  quhome  he  luffit  best."  Thirty 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     65 

different  dances  are  mentioned.  **  It  was  ane 
celest  recreation  to  behold  the  licht  lopene, 
galmonding,  stendling,  backwart  and  fordwart, 
dansand  base  dancis,  panuans,  galzardis, 
tardions,  braulis  and  branglis,  buffons,  vitht 
mony  uthir  lycht  dancis,  the  quhilk  are  ower 
prolixit  to  be  rehersit." 

Amongst  the  earliest  records,  we  find  that 
in  the  year  1456,  James  the  Second  granted, 
under  his  great  seal,  to  the  Magistrates  and 
community  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  and  their 
successors  for  ever,  the  valley  and  low  ground 
lying  betwixt  the  rock  called  Craigingalt  in  the 
east,  and  the  common  way  and  passage  on  the 
west  (known  as  Greenside)  for  all  manner  of 
sports,  a  privilege  which  was  fully  taken 
advantage  of  in  the  years  to  follow.  The 
records  as  to  the  Town  Pipers  date  as  far  back 
as  August,  1487.  They  were  supported  by  the 
wealthier  classes,  who  each  gave  them  **  one 
day's  meat." 

In  the  Acts  of  the  Lord  High  Treasurer  (Sir 
William  Knowles,  afterwards  slain  at  Flodden), 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Tytler,  we  have 
many  quaint  entries  relating  to  payments  made 


66  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

to  various  Scots  harpers,  fiddlers,  and  English 
pipers  who  performed  before  the  court  of  James 
the  Sixth.     Here  is  one :  — 

**  July  lo,  1489. — Item,  to  Inglish  pyparis 
that  came  to  the  Castel  yet,  and  playit  to 
the  king  xiij  lib  xiij  s." 

Another  records  ( 1488)  a  payment 

"  to   Patrick  Johnson  and  his  fellows  that 
playt  a  play  to  the  King  in  Lithgow." 

King  James  IV.  was.  no  mean  musician,  if 
one  may  judge  from  the  fact  that  on  the 
occasion  of  his  first  marriage  he  played  on  the 
**  clavycordes  and  after  on  the  lute." 

When  he  met  his  bride  (8th  August,  1503), 
the  Princess  Margaret,  daughter  of  Henry  the 
Seventh,  who  had  come  from  Dalkeith  Castle, 
the  citizens  enhanced  the  welcome  with  a  grand 
pageant.  In  this  were  represented  Paris  and 
the  three  rival  goddesses ;  Mercury,  the  Virgin, 
and  the  angel  Gabriel ;  the  four  Virtues ;  Justice 
treading  on  Nero ;  Force  bearing  a  pillar  with 
Holfoernes  beneath  her,  armed;  Temperance 
holding  a  horse's  bit  and  treading  on  Epicurus, 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     67 

and  Prudence  trampling  over  Sardanaplus. 
The  tarbret  players  performed  in  the  procession 
as  it  moved  from  West  Bow  to  Holyrood.  At 
the  marriage,  in  the  same  year,  the  famous 
minstrels  of  Aberdeen  had  the  honour  of 
singing,  and  were  provided  with  silver  badges 
bearing  the  arms  of  their  city.  A  company  of 
English  comedians  (supposed  to  have  been  in 
the  service  of  Henry  the  Seventh),  headed  by 
John  English,  played  **  a  moralitie  **  before  the 
King  and  Queen.  Masques  and  tournaments 
followed,  in  which  the  King  appeared,  entering 
the  lists  as  the  savage  knight.  Indeed,  His 
Majesty  seems  to  have  been  quite  dilettante  in 
his  tastes. 

The  poet,  William  Dunbar,  author  of  The 
Thistle  and  The  Rose,  written  for  this 
marriage,  was  the  literary  Master  of  the 
Revels,  and  composed  many  plays  which 
were  performed  before  the  King  and  his 
courtiers,  the  company  being  sometimes  sup- 
plemented with  many  noble  foreign  guests. 
Dunbar  was  awarded  the  post  of  Poet-Laureate. 
His  work  seems  to  have  fallen  into  disfavour, 
for,  in  I  5 1 3,  we  find  him  complaining  in  one  of 


68  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

his  short  pieces  that,  although  he  still  enjoyed 
the  Royal  favour,  the  King  seemed  to  prefer 
the  cxjmpany  of  jesters  and  light  women. 
Perhaps  the  change  was  consequent  upon  the 
fact  that  in  his  later  works  the  Rev.  William 
Dunbar  devoted  his  attention  to  religious 
subjects  such  as  Divine  and  earthly  love,  and 
the  character  of  our  Lord. 

About  this  period  the  Robin  Hood  plays  came 
into  vogue.  An  order,  dated  i  5 1 8,  by  the  Earl 
of  Arran,  the  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  refers  to 
the  making  of  sports  and  jocosities,  and  excuses 
one  Francis  Bothwell  from  taking  the  part  of 
Little  John.  The  actors  in  these  plays  were 
chosen  from  the  most  respected  of  the  citizens, 
and  they  could  only  be  excused  on  payment 
of  a  fine. 

Passion  plays  were  a  popular  form  of 
entertainment  at  the  pre-Reformation  time,  and 
upon  the  eve  of  the  Reformation  they  were 
supplemented  by  plays  satirising  the  vices  of 
the  ecclesiastics.  In  regard  to  this  latter,  there 
is  a  record  of  a  summary  form  of  censorship 
having  been  employed.  Kyllor,  a  monk  of  the 
Blackfriars  Monastery,  was  burned  at  the  stake 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     69 

on  Castle  Hill  for  certain  free  expressions 
employed  in  a  play  performed  before  the  Court. 
In  the  accounts  of  the  Treasurer  to  James  the 
Fifth,  under  date  1530,  appears  an  item  that 
sounds  somewhat  Scriptural:  — 

*'  Item,    to    the    Egyptianis    that    dansit 
before  the  King  in  Holyrud  House,  40s." 

Returning  to  the  Greenside,  where  the  Robin 
Hood  sports  took  place,  Sir  David  Lyndsay's 
Pleasant  Satire  of  the  Three  Estates  was 
presented,  but,  as  it  exposed  the  lives  of  the 
Scottish  clergy,  by  a  Council  of  the  Church, 
held  at  the  Black  Priory  in  March,  1558,  Sir 
David's  books  were  ordered  to  be  burned  by 
the  public  executioner. 

Its  first  performance  is  said  to  have  taken 
place  at  Cupar  in  1535,  but  of  this  no 
particulars  have  been  preserved.  According 
to  Wilson,  the  "  Pleasant  Satire  was  played 
in  1544  before  the  Queen  Regent,  as 
is  mentioned  by  Henry  Charteris,  the  book- 
seller, who  sat  patiently  nine  hours  on  the 
bank  to  witness  the  play.  It  so  far  sur- 
passes  any   efforts   of   contemporary   English 


70  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

dramatists  that  it  renders  the  barrenness  of  the 
Scottish  muse  in  this  department  afterwards  the 
more  apparent."  To  the  modem  playgoer,  the 
spectacle  of  a  nine-hour  auditor  must  be  that 
of  a  veritable  hero,  when  so  few  nowadays  can 
stand  the  stress  of  a  three-hour  ordeal.  In  his 
Essay  on  The  Drama,  Scott  differs  materially 
from  Wilson  with  regard  to  date  and  place  of 
production  of  Lyndsay's  Satire. 

"  The  difference  between  the  Catholic  and 
Reformed  religion  was  fiercely  disputed  in 
some  of  these  dramas,  and  in  Scotland  a 
mortal  blow  was  aimed  at  the  superstitions 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  by  Sir  David 
Lyndsay  in  a  Morality  acted  in  1539  and 
entitled  The  Satire  of  the  Three  Estaltis, 
In  a  letter  to  Lord  Priory  Seal  of  England, 
26th  Jany.,  1540,  Sir  William  Eure  (Envoy 
from  Henry  the  Eighth)  gives  the  following 
account  of  the  play.  *  In  the  feast  Epiphane 
at  Lightgowe  before  the  King  Queene  and 
the  whole  connsaile,  spirituall  and  tempo  rail. 
In  the  first  entres  comes  in  Solare  (whose 
part  was  but  to  make  mery,  sing  ballets  with 
his  fellowes,  and  drink  at  the  interluydes  of 
the    play)    whoe    showed   firste    to   all   the 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     71 

audience  the  play  to  be  played.  Next  came 
in  a  King,  who  passed  to  his  throne,  having 
nae  speche  to  the  ende  of  the  play,  and  then 
to  ratify  and  approve,  as  in  Parliament,  all 
things  done  by  the  rest  of  the  players,  which 
represented  The  Three  Estates.  With  him 
came  his  cortiers,  Placebo,  Piethank,  and 
Flatterye,  and  sic  alike  gard:  One  swering 
he  was  the  lustiest,  starkeste,  best  propor- 
tionit,  and  most  valeyant  man  that  ever  was ; 
and  ane  other  swore  he  was  the  best  with 
long-bowe,  cross  bowe  and  culvern  and  so, 
fourth.  Thairafter  there  came  a  man  armed 
in  harness,  with  a  swerde  drawn  in  his  hande, 
a  Bishop,  a  Burges-Man  and  Experience, 
cled  like  a  Doctor,  who  set  them  all  down 
on  the  dels  under  the  King.  After  them 
comes  a  Poor  Man,  who  did  go  up  and  down 
the  scaffolde,  making  a  hevie  complainte  that 
he  was  hereyet,  throw  the  courtiers  taking 
his  fewe  in  one  place,  and  his  tackes  in 
another;  wherethrough  he  had  sceyled  his 
house,  his  wyfe  and  childrene  begging  thair 
brede,  and  so  of  many  thousands  in 
Scotland ;  saying  thair  was  no  remedy  to  be 
gotten,  as  he  was  neither  acquainted  with 
controuUe  nor  treasurer.  And  then  he 
looked  to  the  King  and  said  he  was  not  King 


72  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

in  Scotland,  fore  there  was  ane  other  King 
in  Scotland  that  hanged  Johne  Armstrang, 
with  his  fellowes,  Sym  the  Laird,  and  mony 
other  mai,  but  he  had  left  ane  thing  undone. 
Then  he  made  a  long  narracione  of  the 
oppression  of  the  poor,  by  the  taking  of  the 
corsepresaunte  heists,  and  of  the  berrying  of 
poor  men  by  the  consistorye  lave,  and  of 
many  other  abusions  of  the  Spiritualitie  and 
Church.  Then  the  Bishop  raise  and  rebuked 
him.  Then  the  Man  of  Armes  alledged  the 
contraire  and  commanded  the  poore  man  to 
go  on.  The  poor  man  proceeds  with  a  long 
list  of  the  Bishop's  evil  practices,  the  vices 
of  the  cloisters,  etc: — This  proved  by  Ex- 
perience who,  from  a  New  Testament,  shows 
the  office  of  a  Bishop.  The  Man  of  Armes 
and  the  Burges  approve  of  all  that  was 
said  against  the  clergy,  and  alledge  the 
expediency  of  a  reform,  with  the  consent  of 
Parliament.  The  Bishop  dissents.  The  Man 
of  Armes  and  Burges  said  they  were  two  and 
he  but  one,  wherefore  should  have  most 
effect.  Thereafter  the  King  in  the  play, 
ratified  approved  and  confirmed  all  that  was 
rehearsed.'  " 

The  following  is  one  of  the  speeches  by  the 
character.  Correction :  — 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     73 

**  Na  realm,  nor  land,  but  my  support  may  stand 
For  I  gar  kings  live  into  royalty. 
To  rich  and  poor  I  bear  an  equal  hand 
That  they  may  live  into  their  own  degree. 
Quhare  I  am  not,  is  no  tranquility. 
By  me  traitors  and  tyrants  are  put  down, 
Quha  thinks  no  shame  of  their  iniquity 
Till  they  be  punished  by  me.  Correction. 
Quhat  is  ane  King?     Naught  but  ane  officer 
To  cause  his  lieges  live  in  equity 
And  under  God,  to  be  ane  punisher 
Of  trespassours  against  His  majesty." 

At  the  Tennis  Court,  Holy  rood  (situate  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Water  Gate),  in  the 
year  1541  there  was  supposed  to  have  been 
enacted  a  *'  litill  farsche  and  play  maid  be 
William  Lauder,"  which  was  produced  before 
the  Queen  Regent,  Mary  of  Guise,  on  which 
occasion  the  author  was  presented  with  two 
silver  cups. 

But  the  good  men  of  Parliament,  ever 
solicitous  of  the  morals  of  their  people,  saw  in 
the  Robin  Hood  plays  and  May  Queen  games 
an  increasing  menace  to  national  righteousness, 
and  so  in  1555  we  find  them  passing  an  Act 
of  the  following  tenor:  — 


74  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

**  Item.  It  is  statute  and  ordanit  that  in 
all  times  cumming  na  maner  of  persoun  be 
chosin  Robert  Hude  nor  Lytill  Johne  Abbot 
Unressoun  Quenis  of  Maij,  nor  utherwyse 
nouther  in  Burgh  nor  to  landwart  in  ony 
tyme  to  cum.  And  gif  ony  Provest  Baillies 
counsall  and  communitie  chosis  sic  ane 
Personage  as  Robert  Hude  Lytill  John 
Abbotis  of  unressoun  or  Quenis  of  Maij 
within  Burgh  the  chefaris  of  fie  sail  tyne 
thair  fredome  for  the  space  of  fyve  yeiris  and 
utherwyse  salbe  punist  at  the  Quenis  grace 
will  and  the  acceptar  of  sicklyke  office  salbe 
banist  furth  of  the  Realme.  And  gif  ony  sic 
persounis  sic  as  Robert  Hude  Little  Johne 
Abbotis  of  Unressoun  Quenis  of  Maij  beis 
chosin  outwith  Burgh  and  uthers  landwart 
townis  the  chefaris  sail  pay  to  our  Soverane 
Lady  x  pundis  and  thair  persounis  put  in 
waird  thair  to  remaine  during  the  Quenis 
grace  plesoure.  And  gif  ony  wemen  or 
uthers  about  simmer  treis  singand  makis 
perturbation  to  the  Quenis  lieges  in  the 
passage  throw  Burrowis  and  uthers  landwart 
townis  the  wemen  perturbatouris  for  skafrie 
of  money  or  utherwyse  salbe  takin  handellit 
and  put  upon  the  Cukstulis  of  evexie  Burgh 
or  towne.*' 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     75 

Despite  the  passing  of  this  Act,  which  the 
public  seemed  to  respect  in  a  mild  way,  as 
subsequent  events  proved,  the  Parliament  had 
scotched  the  snake,  not  killed  it.  In  the  month 
of  May,  1 561,  an  Edinburgh  mob  became  so 
enraged  at  the  disappointment  they  had  received 
in  *'  making  a  Robin  Hood  "  on  the  .Greenside, 
that  they  rose  in  mutiny,  seized  the  City  gates, 
committed  various  robberies  upon  strangers, 
and,  upon  one  of  the  ringleaders  being  con- 
demned by  the  Magistrates  to  be  hung,  they 
forced  open  the  jail,  set  at  liberty  the  con- 
demned man,  and  broke  up  the  gibbet  which 
had  been  erected  for  him  at  the  Cross.  The 
culprit  was  one,  James  Dillon,  a  cordiner's 
servant,  who  had  committed  the  heinous  crime 
of  being  chosen  Robin  Hood  and  Lord  of 
Inobedience.  Following  upon  this  action,  the 
crowd  assaulted  the  Magistrates  as  they  sat  in 
the  Council  Chamber,  compelling  them  to  seek 
the  refuge  of  the  Tolbooth,  where  they  renewed 
their  attack,  battering  the  doors  down  and 
pouring  in  stones  through  the  windows.  An 
appeal  was  made  to  the  Deacons  of  the 
Corporation   to    appease    the   mob,    but    they 


76  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

refused  to  intervene,  making  the  laconic  answer, 
"  They  will  be  Magistrates  alone,  let  them  rule 
the  multitijdes  alone."  That  to  the  Constable 
of  the  Castle  was  also  in  vain,  for  the 
Magistrates  were  held  in  strict  confinement 
until  they  had  issued  the  following  proclamation 
idemnifying  the  rioters,  all  of  which  is  set  forth 
by  the  old  city  chronicler:  — 

*'  That  the  said  provost  and  baillies  sail 
remit  to  the  said  craftschilder  all  actioun, 
cryme  and  offens  that  thai  had  committit 
aganes  thame  in  any  tyme  bygane  and  band 
and  oblast  thame  never  to  pursue  thame 
thairfor,  and  als  commandit  thair  masters  to 
resave  thame  agane  in  thair  services  as  thai 
did  befoir.  And  this  being  proclamit  at  the 
Mercat  Croce,  thai  scailit,  and  the  said 
provest  and  baillies  come  furth  of  the  same 
tolbouyth.*' 

When  Queen  Mary  landed  at  Leith  on  19th 
August,  1 561,  she  was  welcomed  by  a  grand 
pageant.  Along  the  road  from  Leith  to 
Restalrig,  and  thence  to  Holyrood,  banners  and 
bands  of  music  lined  the  route.  It  scarcely 
met  with  the  entire  approbation  of  the  Queen, 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     77 

for,  according  to  the  old  chronicler,  she  sighed 
and  remarked  to  one  of  her  attendants,  **  They, 
mean  well  and  we  must  be  content.*'  The 
ceremony  which  followed  in  the  evening  met 
with  just  as  little  approval,  according  to  the 
story  of  one  of  her  French  servants:  **  There 
came  under  her  windows  five  or  six  hundreds 
citizens  who  gave  her  a  concert  of  the  vilest 
fiddles  and  little  rebecs,  which  are  as  bad  as 
they  can  be  in  that  country,  and  accompanied 
them  with  singing  psalms,  but  so  wretchedly 
out  of  tune  and  concord  that  nothing  can  be 
worse.  Ahl  what  melody  it  was.  What  a 
lullaby  for  the  night ! " 

On  the  1st  September,  the  City  gave  a 
banquet  in  her  honour,  for  which  the  sum  of 
4,000  merks  (£225  5s.  6d.)  was  raised  by 
means  of  a  tax  upon  the  citizens.  Amongst 
the  masques  which  were  performed  was  one 
shewing  the  doom  of  Korah,  Dathan  and 
Abiram,  set  forth  by  some  of  the  more  zealous 
Reformers  as  a  picture  lesson  for  the  Queen's 
instruction  and  guidance  in  the  paths  of  virtue. 

The  efforts  of  the  Reformers  were  by  no 
niieans  confined  to  such  measures.    In  1563  the 


78  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Assembly  took  the  press  under  its  direction, 
prohibiting  all  books  concerning  religion  to  be 
pubHshed  till  the  printers  had  obtained,  not  only 
a  license  from  the  Magistrates,  but  also  the 
approbation  of  the  Kirk.  The  King's  printer, 
too,  had  to  receive  assistance  in  the  matter  of 
a  salary  of  £50  a  year  from  the  Church. 

Stringent  as  the  measures  were  that  had  been 
taken  for  the  moral  health  of  the  people,  the 
Court  hardly  believed  in  the  maxim  that  what 
was  sauce  for  the  goose  was  equally  suitable 
for  the  other  members  of  the  family,  for  we 
read  of  a  Latin  masque  entitled  The  Pomp  of 
the  Gods  being  performed  in  July,  1567. 
Birrell,  in  his  Diary,  under  date  1 7th  January, 
I  568,  also  speaks  of  '*  a  play  maid  by  Robert 
Sempill  "  which  was  played  before  the  Lord 
Regent  and  the  nobility,  and  the  author  paid 
£66  13s.  4d.  It  is  conjectured  that  the  play 
was  a  comedy  entitled  Philotus,  a  copy  of  which 
has  been  reprinted  by  the  Bannatyne  Club. 
The  entire  story  was  said  to  have  been  borrowed 
from  a  work  of  Barnaby  Rich,  published  under 
the  title  of   Riche,  his  Farewell  to  Militarie 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     79 

profession :  containing  very  pleasant  Discourses 
fit  for  a  peacable  time. 

This  tale  is  the  second  in  the  series. 
Philotus,  a  very  rich  and  very  old  man,  is 
enamoured  of  Emelia,  the  beauteous  daughter 
of  Alberto,  but  is  unsuccessful  in  winning  her 
regard.  The  old  suitor  makes  an  appeal  to 
her  father,  who  gives  his  consent,  but  is  unable 
to  command  that  of  his  daughter.  To  this  enter 
Flavins,  Emelia's  lover.  Disguised  as  a  young 
man,  Emelia  leaves  her  father*s  house.  Mean- 
time Philerno,  her  brother,  returns  after  a  long 
absence,  and  is  mistaken  for  his  sister.  Falling 
in  with  his  sister's  plan,  he  consents  to  marry 
Philotus,  who  commits  his  bride  to  the  care 
of  his  daughter,  Brisilla.  This  couple  find  each 
other's  company  so  agreeable  that,  after  certain 
invocations,  Philerno  pretends  to  be  metamor- 
phosed into  a  man.  The  marriage  of  Philotus 
is  celebrated,  and  Philerno,  **  fearing  to  be 
discovered,  maketh  a  brawling  that  same 
night  with  Philotus,  abuseth  him  vyllie  and  to 
colour  the  matter  the  better  agreeth  with  "  a 
courtesan  to  go  to  bed  with  Philotus.  Flavius, 
secretly  married  to  Emelia,  becoming  suspicious 


80  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

as  to  her  real  identity,  dismisses  her  as  an  evil 
spirit  who  had  assumed  an  earthly  shape.  She 
returns  to  her  father's  house  and  is  there  met 
by  Philotus :  the  one  complains  of  her  husband, 
the  other  of  his  wife,  and  a  comic  situation  is 
thus  produced.  The  mystery  being  explained, 
Emelia  returns  to  Flavius  and  Brisilla  is 
married  to  Philerno.  The  play  is  not  divided 
into  acts  or  scenes,  but  follows  out  the  easy- 
style  of  eight-lined  verse.* 

In  the  department  of  itinerant  performers, 
Calderwood  mentions  that,  in  1 57 1,  one  named 
Kircaldy  danced  before  the  cock  of  the  steeple 
at  St.  Giles.  Against  such.  Parliament  levelled 
their  Act,  dated   1574  (James  VI.,  873). 

*'  It  is  declared  that  all  ydill  pfonis  gazing 
about  in  ony  countre  of  this  reaJme  using 
subtile  crafty  and  unlauchfull  playis,  As 
jugleerie  fast  and  loose  and  sic  utheris.  And 
all  minstrallis  sangstaris  and  taill  tellaris  not 

*  As  Barnaby  Rich's  book  was  not  published  till  1581,  the  fact 
of  this  being  the  play  produced  is  flatly  contradicted.  The  first 
edition  of  Philotus  was  not  printed  in  Edinburgh  till  1603.  It 
was  upon  this  story  that  Shakespeare  founded  his  Twelfth  Nighty 
which  must  have  been  produced  late  in  the  year  1600,  or  early  in 
the  following  year. 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH      81 

avowit  in  speciall  suice  be  sum  of  the  lordis 
of  Pliament  or  greit  barronis  or  be  the  heid 
burro  wis  and  cities  for  comoun  menstrallis 
...  salbe  takin  adjugeit  demed  and  puneist 
as  Strang  beggaris  and  vagaboundis.'* 

In  the  same  year,  the  question  arose  before 
the  General  Assembly  on  August  nth,  when 
a  Commission  was  appointed  to  enquire  into 
the  violation  of  the  Sabbath  day  by  profana 
plays.  The  following  year  they  prohibited  all 
dramas  founded  upon  Scripture.  The  censors 
were  the  Kirk  Session,  before  which  body  the 
piece  was  first  read.  One  stipulation  was  that 
*'  Nae  swearing,  banning,  nor  nae  scurrility 
shall  be  spoken,  which  would  be  a  scandal  to 
our  religion,  and  for  an  evil  example  to  others." 
An  interesting  sequel  to  this  decree  will  be 
found  in  the  Assembly's  proceedings  for  23rd 
October,    1576. 

**  Anent  the  suppUcatioun  given  in  be  the 
toun  of  Dumferling  for  liberty  to  be  granted 
them  to  play  upon  a  Sunday  afternoone  a 
certain  play  which  is  noi  made  upon  the 
Canonical  parts  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
AssembHe   refuses    to   give   libertie   to   the 


82  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Bailzie  of  Dunfermling  to  play  upon  a 
Sunday  afternoone  a  certain  play  quhilk  is 
not  made  upon  the  Canonicall  parts  of  the 
Scripture,  in  respect  of  the  act  of  the 
Assemblies  past  in  the  contrair,  exhorting 
the  Bailzie  of  Dunfermling  presenter  of  the 
bill  to  request  to  keep  the  ordinance  of  the 
Assemblie." 

A  further  attempt  upon  the  liberty  of  the 
subject  was  tried  in  1578,  when  the  General 
Assembly,  by  an  Act,  of  April  24th,  concluded 

**  That  an  Universall  Fast  shall  be  keeped 
thro'  all  the  Kirks  of  this  realm  .  .  .  and 
that  this  Act  be  intimat  to  the  King  his 
Majestie  and  Counsell,  and  his  Grace  and 
Counsell  be  humbly  required  to  discharge 
be  proclamation  all  kinds  of  insolent  playes 
as  Robin  Hood,  King  of  May,  and  such  like 
in  all  persons  as  well  scholers  (bairns  at  the 
schools)  as  others,  under  such  paines  as 
they  shall  think  good." 

The  punishment  for  vagabonds  and  beggars 
was  detention  in  the  stocks.  The  culprit  was 
tried  at  the  Assiaes  six  days  afterwards,  and, 
if  found  guilty,  scourged  and  burned  through 


THE  DRAMA  IN  EDINBURGH.     83 

the  gristle  of  the  right  ear  with  **  ane  het  I  me 
of  the  Compasse  of  ane  inche  about  " :  all  this 
being  done  **  to  th-e  greit  pleasure  of  almichtie 
God  and  commoun  weiU  of  the  realme."  If 
discovered  a  second  time  within  sixty  days, 
the  miscreant  was  to  be  hung  as  a  thief  (Act 
1579  James  VI.).  There  is  a  cheerful  tone 
about  this  law  that  must  have  affordied  infinite 
comfort  to  the  soul  of  the  judge  whose  duty 
it  was  to  pronounce  sentence. 

That  the  Kirk  had  some  difficulty  in 
persuading  its  own  officials  to  obey  their 
commands  with^  regard  to  plays,  is  suggested 
by  a  question  which  arose  at  the  July  session 
of  the  Assembly,  1579. 

"  Q.  What  aught  to  be  done  to  sick 
persons,  that,  after  admonition,  will  passe  to 
May  playis ;  and  speciallie  elders  and 
deacons  and  uthers  quha  beares  office  in  the 
Kirk? 

"  Responsis.  They  aught  not  to  be 
admittit  to  the  sacrament  without  satisfac- 
tion:  in  speciall  elders  and  deacons." 


84  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

EDINBURGH'S   EARLY   DRAMA. 

When  King  James  the  Sixth  made  his  first 
pubHc  entry  into  the  city  in  October,  1579,  to 
assist  at  the  opening  of  Parliament,  he  was 
made  the  subject  of  a  very  flattering  reception. 
At  the  West  Port  the  Magistrates  received  him 
under  a  purple  canopy;  then  the  allegory  of 
Solomon's  wise  judgment  was  enacted  before 
him;  after  which  he  was  presented  with  the 
sword  and  sceptre.  Upon  reaching  the  next 
gate  at  the  foot  of  the  West  Bow,  the  keys  of 
the  City  were  presented  to  him  by  a  cherub. 
At  the  Tolbooth  three  ladies,  personating  Peace, 
Plenty,  and  Justice,  addressed  him  in  the  Greek, 
Latin,  and  Scottish  tongues.  Religion  next 
apf)eared,  and  addressed  the  Scottish  Solomon 
in  Hebrew.  On  her  invitation,  he  entered 
St.  Giles*  Church,  to  find  a  special  sermon 
directed  towards  him.     By  a  peculiar  appro- 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     85 

priateness,  upon  leaving  the  church,  he  found 
Bacchus  on  a  high  platform  at  the  Cross, 
dispensing  draughts  of  wine  to  all  and  sundry. 
In  the  face  of  such  encouragement  given  to 
pageantry  displays  by  city  Magistrates,  the 
ineffectiveness  of  any  law  passed  against  Robin 
Hood  plays  and  other  pastimes  must  have  been 
accentuated,  for  a  further  protest  is  recorded 
in  the  General  Assembly,  Session  July  2nd, 
1 591.  "It  is  cravit  "  that  "the  Acts  of 
Parliament  made  for  suppressing  of  the 
enormities  following  may  be  put  to  execution  " 
against  **  Profaners  of  the  Sabbath  day  by 
Robein  Hoodes  Playis." 

As  a  set-off  against  this,  there  is  at  least  one 
important  testimony  to  the  influence  of  the 
plays.  M'Crie  attributed  the  rapid  spread  of 
the  Reformation  principles  to  the  preparation 
which  the  minds  of  the  people  had  received  from 
such  plays  as  Sir  David  Lyndsay*s  Satire. 
But  they  had  served  their  purpose,  so  it  was 
deemed,  and  now  that  the  sacred  power  of  the 
Church  seemed  to  be  in  danger  from  the 
people's  natural  instinct  for  pleasure,  strong 
measures  were  adopted  for  the  repression  of 


86  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

these  counter  attractions.  As  history  relates, 
however,  such  attempts  were  rendered  abortive 
by  the  stubborn  opposition  of  their  adherents. 
That  the  King  heeded  their  instructions  not  a 
whit,  is  proved  by  his  having  taken  a  company 
of  English  players  under  his  patronage  in  i  592. 
Amongst  the  first  of  equestrian  wonders 
in  Edinburgh  is  one  mentioned  in  Patrick 
Henderson's  History  of  Scotland. 

**  There  came  an  Englishman  to  Edin- 
burgh (April,  1 561?)  with  a  Chestain 
coloured  naig,  which  he  called  Marocco. 
He  made  him  to  do  many  rare  and  uncouth 
tricks,  such  as  never  horse  was  observed  to 
do  the  like  before  in  this  land.  This  man 
would  borrow  from  twenty  or  thirty  of  the 
spectators  a  piece  of  gold  or  silver,  put  all 
in  a  purse,  and  shuffle  them  together:  there- 
after he  would  give  every  gent  his  own  piece 
of  money  again.  He  would  cause  him  to  tell 
by  so  many  pats  with  his  foot  how  many 
shillings  the  piece  of  money  was  worth.  He 
would  cause  him  to  lie  down  as  dead.  He 
would  say  to  him,  *  I  will  sell  you  to  a  carter,' 
then  he  would  seem  to  die.  Then  he  would 
say,  *  Marocco,  a  gent  hath  borrowed  you, 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     87 

and  you  must  ride  with  a  lady  of  court : ' 
Then  he  would  most  daintily  hackney,  amble 
and  ride  a  pace  and  trot,  and  play  the  jade 
at  his  command  when  his  master  pleased. 
...  By  a  sign  given  him,  he  would  beck 
for  the  King  of  Scots  and  for  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, and  when  he  spoke  of  the  King  of  Spain 
would  both  bite  and  strike  at  you  and  many 
other  wonderful  things.  But  the  report  went 
afterwards  that  he  devoured  his  master, 
because  he  was  thought  to  be  a  spirit,  nought 
else." 

Shakespeare  alludes  to  this  horse  in  Love's 
Labour  Lost. 

'*  How  easy  it  is  to  put  years  to  the  word 
three,  and  study  three  years  in  two  words, 
the  dancing  horse  will  tell  you !  " 

Banks,  after  taking  his  horse  all  over  the 
Continent,  was  burnt  along  with  his  wonderful 
animal  at  Rome,  on  the  plea  that  they  were 
magicians  both. 

An  extract  from  the  Diary  of  Robert  Birch 
( 1 532-1605)  gives  an  account  of  a  rope 
walking  performance. 


88  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

**  July  lo,  1598.  Ane  man,  some  callit 
him  a  juggler,  playit  sic  supple  tricks  upon 
ane  tow  whilk  was  fastenit  betwixt  the  top 
of  St.  Giles*  Kirk  Steeple  and  ane  stair 
beneath  the  Cross  called  Josia*s  Closehead, 
the  like  was  never  seen  in  this  country,  as 
he  rade  doun  the  tow  and  playit  sae  mony 
pavies  on  it.** 

This  performer  received  £20  from  the  King 
for  the  steeple  trick.  Two  months  later, 
£6  13s.  4d.  was  paid  to  David  Weir,  sporter, 
supposed  to  be  the  one  and  same  person.  King 
James  seems  to  have  been  very  fond  of  this 
style  of  performance,  for  in  Melville's  Diary 
there  is  an  account  of  £333  6s.  8d.  Scots  money 
(the  Scots  pound,  value  is.  8d.)  having  been 
paid  to  Peter  Bramhill,  the  French  pavier. 
And,  again,  in  1600,  Melville  writes:  **  Being 
in  Falkland,  I  saw  a  funambulist,  a  Frenchman, 
play  strange  and  incredible  frolicks  upon  a 
stented  tackle  in  the  Palace  close  before  the 
king,  queen  and  the  haill  court." 

An  English  company  of  players  visited  the 
city  in  October,  1599,  and  was  granted  a 
special  license  to  act  by  the  King.     The  Kirk- 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     89 

Session  passed  a  decree  denouncing  all  players 
and  their  patrons,  the  former  as  unruly  and 
immodest,  the  latter  as  irreligious  and  in- 
discreet. The  opposition  consequent  upon  this 
led  to  a  conference  between  the  Session  and 
the  angry  King,  at  which  the  former  were 
obliged  to  withdraw  their  denunciation 
(November  lo,  1599),  which  had  been 
advertised  from  all  their  pulpits;  and  they, 
authorised  all  men  *'  to  repair  to  the  said 
comedies  and  plays  without  any  pain,  reproach, 
censure  or  slander  to  be  incurred  by  them." 

It  was  about  a  year  after  this  that  another 
English  company,  under  the  direction  of 
Laurence  Fletcher,  made  its  way  into  Scotland. 
Their  performances  were  given,  amongst  other 
places,  at  the  Tennis  Court,  Holy  rood.  With 
this  company,  according  to  Fleay,  Shakespeare 
himself  was  associated. 

From  a  theatrical  point  of  view,  the  next 
eighty  years  that  followed  were  altogether 
barren  of  interest.  In  the  face  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical and  legislative  opposition  that  existed, 
no  company  of  players  would  risk  the  financial 
7 


90  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

uncertainty  of  a  visit  to  Scottish  domains.  The 
people,  too,  fell  into  a  state  of  indifiference  in 
regard  to  the  drama.  The  fear  of  incurring 
the  displeasure  of  the  Kirk,  and  the  incon- 
venience connected  with  any  breach  of  civil 
discipline,  deterred  them  from  seeking  out  those 
pleasures  for  which  they  had  previously  striven 
so  zealously.  That  this  would  have  its 
deteriorating  effects  upon  the  stamina  of  his 
people  was  the  strong  conviction  of  James  the 
Sixth,  and  led  to  his  issuing  a  proclamation, 
in  June  of  1618,  with  special  reference  to 
sports  on  Sundays.  His  belief  was  that,  being 
prevented  from  indulging  in  these,  they  would 
think  Papistry  a  better  religion,  since  it  allowed 
of  sports.  Another  inconvenience  was  **  that 
this  prohibition  barreth  the  common  and 
meaner  people  from  using  such  exercise  as 
may  make  their  bodies  more  able  for  war,  when 
we  or  our  successors  shall  have  occasion  to  use 
them,  and,  in  place  thereof,  sets  up  filthy 
tipplings  and  drunkeness,  and  breeds  a  number 
of  idle  and  discontented  speeches  in  their 
alehouses,  for  when  shall  the  common  people 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     91 

have  leave  to  exercise  if  not  upon  the  Sundays 
and  holidays,  seeing  they  must  apply  their 
labour  to  win  their  living  on  other  days." 
The  King,  therefore,  willed  that  **no  lawful 
recreation  be  barred  to  the  people/'  such  as 
dancing,  either  men  or  women;  archery  for 
men,  leaping,  vaulting;  nor  from  having  of 
May  games,  Whitsun-ales  and  Morris  dances, 
and  the  setting  up  of  May-poles;  seeing, 
however,  that  no  one  was  allowed  so  to  indulge 
who  had  not  previously  attended  service  in 
church. 

The  year  1 6 1 9  is  memorable  for  the  visit  of 
Ben  Jonson.  His  grandfather  was  one  of  the 
Johnstons  of  Annandale.  In  the  month  of 
September,  Taylor,  the  water-poet,  found 
him  in  the  house  of  John  Stuart  at  Leith. 
Previously,  Jonson  had  been  the  guest  of 
William  Drummond,  the  poet,  at  his  residence 
in  Hawthomden,  on  the  river  Esk,  a  distance 
of  some  seven  miles  from  the  city.  Out  of 
gratitude  and  respect,  Ben  inscribed  a  madrigal 
to  his  friend  in  the  following  strain:  — 


«  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

**  On  a  lover's  dust  made  sand  for 
an  hour 'glass, 

**  To  the  Honouring  Respect  Born  To  the 
Friendship  Contracted  With  The  Right 
Virtuous  and  Learned  Mr.  William 
Drummond,  and  The  Perpetuating  The 
Same  by  all  the  Offices  of  Love  Hereafter. 
I,  Ben  Jonson  Whom  He  Hath  Honoured 
with  the  Leave  to  be  called  His,  Have, 
With  Mine  Own  Hand,  To  Satisfy  his 
Request,  Written  this  Imperfect  Song." 

Of  Dnmimond's  work  as  a  poet,  one  critic 
has  written  that  his  poems  present  a  striking 
resemblance  to  Milton's  minor  works.  His 
chef  d*oeuvre  may  be  regarded  as  the  History 
of  the  Five  Jameses,  the  Scottish  Kings. 

But  although  dramatic  work  had  met  with 
such  little  encouragement  in  the  city,  the  people 
had  not  wholly  lost  their  taste  for  pageantry. 
The  visit  of  Charles  I.  to  the  capital,  in  1633, 
gave  them  the  opportunity  of  providing  a 
spectacle  characterised  by  all  the  old  grandeur 
of  classical  and  patriotic  display. 

Turning  aside  for  a  moment  to  the  curious 
in  history,  Spalding's  Memorials  of  the  Troubles 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     93 

in  England  and  Scotland  supplies  us  with  a 
quaint  narration  regarding  that  physical  freak, 
popularly  known  as  the  Sianaese  twins:  — 

"April,  1642.  About  this  time  travelled 
in  Scotland  an  Italian  aged  24,  having  from 
his  birth,  growing  from  the  breast  upwards, 
face  to  face  as  it  were  ane  creature  having 
a  head  and  syde  (long)  hair  like  the  colour 
of  man's  hair,  the  head  still  drooping  back- 
wards and  downward.  He  had  eyes,  but 
closed,  not  opened.  He  had  ears,  2  hands, 
3  fingers  on  ilk  hand,  ane  body,  ane  leg, 
ane  foot  with  six  taes,  the  other  leg  within 
the  flesh  inclining  to  the  left  side.  It  has 
a  kind  of  life  and  feeling,  but  void  of  all 
other  senses:  fed  by  the  man's  own  nourish- 
ment. This  great  work  of  God  was  admired 
of  by  many  in  Aberdeen  and  through  the 
country,  as  he  travelled:  yet  such  was  the 
goodness  of  God  that  he  would  go  and  walk 
where  he  listed,  carrying  this  birth  without 
any  pain,  yea,  unespied  when  his  clothes  was 
on." 

The  case  was  not  without  parallel.  The 
Parish  Register  for  Heme  (Kent),  1565,  bears 
this  entry:  — 


94  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

*'  John  Jarvys  had  two  woemen  children 
baptised  at  home  joyned  together  in  the  belly, 
and  havynge  each  the  one  of  their  armes 
lyeinge  at  one  of  their  own  shoulders,  and 
in  all  other  parts  well-proportioned  children, 
buryed  August  29." 

The  lawyer  Nicoll  (May,  1658)  writes  of  a 
trained  horse,  brought  from  England,  which 
amused  the  people  of  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and 
towns  in  the  realm,  '*  wha  being  trained  up  in 
dancing  and  other  concerts  of  that  kind,  did 
afford  much  sport  and  contentment  to  the 
people;  but  not  without  gain,  for  none  was 
admitted  to  see  the  dancing  without  two  pence 
the  piece  and  some  more.*' 

In  1659  he  chronicles  the  appearance  of  a 
dromedary.  *'  It  was  very  big,  of  great  height 
and  cloven  footed  like  a  cow  and  on  the  back 
ane  seat,  as  it  were  a  saddle  to  sit  on.  .  .  . 
Being  kept  close  in  the  Canongate,  none  had 
a  sight  of  it  without  threepence  a  person. 
There  was  brought  with  it  ane  little  baboon, 
faced  like  unto  an  ape." 

A  further  contribution  to  the  list  of  itinerants 
is  given  in  the  Chronicle  of  Fife,  which  relates 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     95 

that  in  1662  a  famous  German  quack  doctor, 
John  Pontheus,  set  up  a  stage  in  High  Street, 
where  he  sold  his  drugs  at  8d.  a  packet.  For 
assistants  he  had  one  that  played  the  fool,  and 
another  that  danced  on  the  tight- rope.  The 
antics  and  rope-dancing,  according  to  Nicoll, 
were  continued  for  many  days  '*  with  an  agility 
and  nimbleness  admirable  to  the  beholders,  one 
of  the  dancers  having  danced  seven  score  times 
without  intermission  lifting  himself  and  vaulting 
six  quarters  high  above  his  own  head,  and 
lighting  directly  upon  the  tow  (rope)  as 
punctually  as  if  he  had  been  dancing  on  the 
plainstones." 

In  a  period  so  barren,  even  in  its  records  of 
itinerant  performers,  it  can  readily  be  imagined 
that  the  dearth  of  theatrical  events  must  have 
been  proportionately  greater.  It  is  true  that 
at  long  and  stated  intervals  a  company  might 
appear  at  the  Tennis  Court  in  Holy  rood  (which, 
by  the  way,  had  been  used  for  this  game  by 
James  IV.),  but  so  few  were  these  performances, 
that  Scotland  might  have  claimed  an  entire 
immunity  from  what  was  clerically  known  as 
**  The  Players  Scourge."     The  preface  to  Sir 


96  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Thomas  Sydceff's  play,  Marclano,  or  The 
Discovery  (published  in  Edinburgh,  1668), 
likens  the  drama  in  Scotland  to  *'  a  swaggerer 
in  a  country  church."  This  play  was  acted 
before  His  Majesty's  Commissioners,  and  the 
nobility,  at  the  Abbey  of  Holyroodhouse  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Festival  of  St.  John. 

The  first  patentees  of  an  Edinburgh  play- 
house were  two  brothers,  Edward  Fountain  of 
Lochhill  and  Captain  James  Fountain,  who 
obtained  a  formal  proclamation  as  **  Masters 
of  the  Revels  "  throughout  the  kingdom.  This 
gave  them  the  exclusive  right  to  license  and 
authorise  all  balls,  masks,  or  plays.  They  took 
occasion  to  assert  this  authority  in  a  petition 
to  the  Privy  Council,  dated  July  24,  1673,  when 
the  Fountains  appealed  against  sundry  dancing 
masters  who  took  upon  them  to  make  **  public 
balls,  dances,  masks  and  other  entertainments 
in  their  schools,  upon  mercenary  designs 
without  any  license  or  authority  from  the 
petitioners."  The  Privy  Council  issued  an 
order  to  all  dancing  masters,  calling  upon  them 
to  desist  from  this  practice,  and  in  particular 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     97 

prohibited  "  Andrew  Devoe  to  keep  any  ball 
to-morrow,  or  at  any  time.   ..." 

It  is  the  Fountains'  Theatre  which  is  referred 
to  in  the  Acts  of  Council,  1679,  where  it  is* 
mentioned  that  a  playhouse  existed  about  the 
same  time  as  a  thousand  prisoners  from  Both- 
well  Bridge  were  confined  in  Greyfriars  Church- 
yard. A  further  petition  was  presented  to  the 
Privy  Council  in  September,  i63o,  by  the 
Fountains,  asking  for  redress  against  such  as 
*'  keep  public  games,  plays  and  lotteries/* 
without  that  license  which  they,  as  Masters  of 
the  Revels,  were  alone  entitled  to  grant. 
Andrew  Devoe  protested  in  the  following  year 
against  such  an  arbitrary  command  that  he 
should  give  no  more  balls  in  his  dancing 
schools,  in  which  he  taught  the  children  of  the 
nobility,  and  the  prayer  of  his  petition  was 
granted.  As  the  years  passed,  the  Fountains, 
seemed  to  become  more  jealous  than  ever  of 
their  monopoly,  claiming  monies  from  bowling 
greens,  kyle-allies  (as  lotteries),  dices,  cards, 
both  public  and  private,  and  these  matters 
having  been  brought  before  the  Privy  Council, 
due  caution  was  given  to  the  interested  parties. 


98  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

At  the  Tennis  Court,  on  15th  November, 
1681,  the  then  Lady  Anne  presented  Nat  Lee's 
cx)medy,  Mlthridates,  King  of  Ponius,  when 
Lady  Anne  and  her  maids  of  honour  were  the 
only  performers.  Play-acting  was  a  fashion- 
able pastime  with  the  ladies  of  the  Court.  It 
will  be  remembered  it  was  in  the  year  1633 
that  S.  R.  Prynne*s  famous  Histriomastix 
was  published,  in  which  he  reverted  to  the 
appearance  of  Queen  Henrietta  and  her  ladies 
in  Montague's  Pastoral,  the  offensive  quotation 
being  from  Dion  Cassias.  *'  It  is  infamous  for 
emperors  or  persons  of  quality  to  dance  upon 
a  stage,  or  acte  a  play."  For  this  breach  of 
etiquette,  Prynne  had  both  his  ears  mutilated, 
was  fined  £5,000,  and  expelled  from  Lincoln's 
Inn. 

William  Tytler,  in  his  Archcelogica  Scotica, 
thinks  that  some  of  the  Duke  of  York's 
company  gave  a  number  of  performances  in 
Edinburgh.  He  recollects  somewhat  dimly, 
seeing  a  playbill  announcing  a  performance 
of  Dryden's  Indian  Emperor  at  the  Queen's 
Chocolate  House  in  High  Street. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1 68 1,  an  Irish  company 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.     99 

of  players,  hearing  of  the  presence  of  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  York  in  the  -Scottish  capital, 
took  the  voyage  across,  landing  at  Irvine.  They 
numbered  thirty  persons  in  all,  and  brought 
with  them  all  their  costumes,  which  were  richly 
embroidered  with  gold  and  silver  lace.  The 
customs  demanded  the  tax  upon  these  dutiable 
goods;  but  with  characteristic  pertinacity  the 
company  petitioned  against  and  were  successful 
in  obtaining  exemption. 

Quite  a  unique  instance  of  the  law,  as  between 
master  and  servant,  is  furnished  by  a  debate 
which  took  place  before  the  Lords  of  the  Privy 
Coimcil  on  the  13th  of  January,  1687,  anent 
the  sale  of  a  dancing  girl.  One  Reid,  a 
mountebank,  prosecuted  Scott  of  Harden  and 
his  wife  **  for  stealing  away  from  him  a  little 
girl  called  *  The  Tumbling  Lassie  *  '*  that  danced 
upon  a  stage,  **  and  produced  "  a  contract,  by 
which  he  had  bought  her  from  her  mother  for 
30  poimds  (about  £2  los.  od.).  "But  we 
have  no  slaves  in  Scotland,"  reported  Lord 
Fountainhall,  "and  mothers  cannot  sell  their 
bairns;  and  physicians  attested  that  the  em- 
ployment of  tumbling  would  kill  her,  her  joints 


100  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

were  even  now  growing  stiff,  and  she  declined 
to  return,  though  she  was  an  apprentice  and 
could  not  run  away  from  her  master."  Some 
of  the  Privy  Council  quoted  Moses*  Law  that, 
**  if  a  servant  shelter  himself  with  thee  against 
his  master's  cruelty,  thou  shalt  not  deliver  him 
up."  The  Lords,  therefore,  assoilzied  Harden, 
who  had  been  moved  only  by  humanity  and 
compassion. 

Following  the  same  course  as  other  national 
dramas,  the  period  of  the  Revolution  leaves  no 
trace  of  any  attempt  at  this  art.  The  first 
record  thereafter  is  that  of  a  performance,  at 
the  Tennis  Court,  of  The  Spanish  Friar,  which 
was  played  before  the  members  of  the  Union 
Parliament  in  1705. 

That  constant  care  which  the  public 
authorities  exercised  over  the  morals  of  their 
fellow  citizens,  is  strikingly  exemplified  in  the 
report  of  a  meeting  of  the  Town  Council  in 
June,  1 709,  when  the  civic  dignitaries  expressed 
their  regret  that  **  the  Lord's  Day  is  still 
profaned  by  people  standing  in  the  streets,  and 
vaguing  to  fields  and  gardens  and  to  the  Castle 
Hill,    also    by    standing   idle    gazing   out    at 


EDINBURGH'S  EARL*  DfiAiMfi^E,  101 

windows,  and  children,  apprentices,  and  other 
servants  playing  in  the  streets."  No  untoward 
conduct,  such  as  the  flagrant  misdemeanor  of 
attempting  to  whistle  or  even  hum,  was  expected 
to  disturb  the  dead  calm  that  pervaded  the 
streets.  Indoors,  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion 
was  supposed  to  be  observed  in  a  rigorous 
religious  meditation,  the  strength  of  whose 
abiding  mood  no  worldly  thought  might  dis- 
turb. Even  in  their  company  manners,  out 
ancestors'  youthful  exuberance  was  held  in 
check.  In  the  Bell's  Wynd  Assembly,  after 
1 7 1  o,  the  gentlemen  had  to  settle  with  a  partner 
for  the  year,  and  this  was  done  by  ballot.  At 
the  dances,  until  the  lady  in  charge  had 
commenced,  the  two  sexes  had  to  remain  seated 
at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  room. 

It  was  some  four  years  after  this  that 
Shakespeare's  Macbeth  was  played  before  the 
Scots  nobility  at  the  Tennis  Court,  after  an 
archery  meeting.  During  the  play,  the  song, 
**  The  King  shall  enjoy  his  own  again,"  was 
called  for  by  some  of  the  more  ardent  spirits. 
An  opposing  body  failing  to  acquiesce  in  this 
sentiment,  a  general  melee  ensued,  resulting  in 


W      0    VHE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

the  break-up  of  the  meeting.  Dibdin  is 
inclined  to  doubt  the  truth  of  this  tale.  In 
the  early  part  of  1 7 1  5,  some  public  theatricals 
took  place  at  the  Tennis  Court,  but  enjoyed 
a  short-lived  season.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that 
it  was  during  the  residence  of  the  Duke  of  York 
that  the  Holyrood  playhouse  was  re- fitted,  and 
here  it  was  that,  for  the  first  time  in  Scotland, 
women  appeared  on  the  stage,  the  future  King 
having  brought  with  him  a  company  selected 
from  the  best  London  houses. 

Strong  as  the  prejudice  of  the  clergy  wasi 
against  play-acting,  yet  it  did  not  prevent 
three  of  the  deputation  of  ministers,  who 
represented  the  Church  in  their  visit  of  con- 
gratulation to  George  the  First  in  1 7 1 4,  seeing 
the  play  Love  for  Love  at  Kendal.  But 
perhaps  their  sole  reason  for  attendance  at 
this  play  may  have  been  a  disinterested  attempt 
to  form  a  judgment  as  to  whether  the  works 
of  the  stage  were  suitable  food  for  their  erring 
flock.  That  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh  did 
not  regard  them  in  a  favourable  light  is 
evinced  from  a  statement  made  in  Session,  23  rd 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   103 

March,  1 7 1  5,  where,  in  adverting  to  the  Canon- 
gate  theatricals,  it  is  remarked:  — 

**  Being  informed  that  some  comedians 
have  lately  come  to  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbytery  and  do  act  within  the  precincts 
of  the  Abbey,  to  the  great  offence  of  many 
by  trespassing  upon  morality  and  those  rules 
of  modesty  and  chastity  which  our  holy 
religion  obligeth  all  its  professors  to  a  strict 
observance  of,  therefore  the  Presbytery 
recommends  to  all  their  members  to  use  all 
proper  and  prudent  methods  to  discourage 
the  same." 

The  "  proper  and  prudent  methods  "  had 
their  due  effect  for,  if  we  except  the  private 
performances  of  some  young  gentlemen  who 
performed  The  Orphan  and  The  Cheats  of 
Scapln  in  171 9,  and  for  which  Allan  Ramsay 
provided  the  prologue,  we  do  not  happen  on 
any  record  of  theatricals  till  the  year  1725, 
when  Anthony  Aston's  comedians  came  to  the 
city,  and  returned  on  a  second  visit  the 
following  year.  The  prologue,  which  was 
written  by  Allan  Ramsay  for  their  second  visit, 
is  worthy  of  quotation:  — 


104  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

"  'Tis  I,  dear  Caledonian,  blithesome  Tony, 
That  oft  last  winter,  pleased  the  brave  and  horny. 
With  medley,   merry  f'ong,   and  comic  scene  : 
Your  kindness  then  has  brought  me  here  again 
After  a  circuit  round  the  Queen  of  Isles, 
To  gain  your  friendship  and  approving  smiles. 
Experience  l»ids  me  hope,  tho*  south  the  Tweed, 
The  dastards  said,  *  He  never  will  succeed  ; 
What,  such  a  country  look  for  any  good  in? 
That  does  not  relish  plays,  nor  pork,  nor  pudding.' 
Thus  great  Columbus,  by  an  idiot  crew. 
Was  ridiculed  at  hrst  (or  his  just  view  ; 
Yet  his  undaunted  spirit  ne'er  gave  ground 
Till  he  a  new  and  better  world  had  found. 
So  I — Inugh  on — the  simile  is  bold  ; 
But,   faiih,   'lis  just,  for  till  the  body's  cold, 
Columbus  like,  I'll  push  for  fame  and  gold." 

Aston's  theatre  is  supposed  to  have  been 
situated  in  a  close  on  the  north  side  of  High 
Street,  near  Smith's  land.  The  scheme  was 
supported  by  subscription  tickets  taken  up  by 
lovers  of  the  drama,  and  the  theatre  was  well 
frequented  by  persons  of  substance  and  leisure. 
The  Council  passed  an  Act  prohibiting  Aston 
from  acting  within  limits  of  their  jurisdiction, 
and  the  Presbytery  sent  a  deputation  to  the 
Magistrates,  thanking  them  for  '*  the  just  zeaj 
they  had  shewn  in  the  matter.**  The  Presbytery 
in  their  turn  drew  up  an  Act  and  exhortation 
against  the  encouragement  or  frequenting  of 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   105 

stage  plays,  and  this  was  appointed  to  be  read 
from  all  pulpits  in  the  district  (November, 
1727).  Wodrow  speaks  of  the  players  having 
large  attendances,  especially  at  the  tragedies, 
The  Mourning  Bride  having  had  an  exceptional 
run  of  three  nights.  An  appeal  was  made  to 
the  Court  of  Session  against  the  Magistrates' 
decree,  with  the  result  that  the  interdict  was 
suspended.  Anent  this  decision,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wodrow,  in  a  letter  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Customs,  wrote:  — 

"  However  it  go;,  I  think  the  magistrates 
of  Edinburgh  may  have  peace  in  the  honest 
appearance  they  have  made  against  those 
seminaries  of  idleness,  looseness,  and  sin." 

Severe  as  the  worthy  authorities  may  havfe 
been  upon  stage  plays,  that  zeal  certainly  did 
not  extend  to  the  suppression  of  other  forms 
of  amusement.  Public  combats  with  swords 
and  rapiers  continued  to  be  very  popular.  As 
to  the  ethical  principles  by  which  such  a 
demeanour  towards  the  different  entertainments 
were  upheld,  it  would  call  forth  a  larger  know- 
8 


106  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

ledge  of  casuistry  than  the  mere  modem 
possesses. 

In  1726,  Andrew  Bryan,  an  Irishman,  issued 
a  challenge.  For  several  days  he  paraded  the 
streets,  beating  a  drum,  when  he  was  at  last 
rewarded  by  an  old  Killicrankie  soldier, 
Donald  Bane,  who  signalised  his  acceptance  of 
the  challenge  by  putting  his  foot  through  the 
drum.  Bane,  who  had  reached  the  age  of 
sixty-two,  had  been  a  serjeant  in  the  Wars  of 
William  and  Anne,  and  bore  a  high  reputation 
for  broadsword  practice.  Behind  Holyrood 
Palace  a  platform  was  erected,  on  June  23rd, 
when  the  contest  took  place  in  the  presence  of 
a  select  assembly  of  the  nobility  and  the 
military.  After  a  hotly-contested  fight,  lasting 
several  hours,  and  during  which  various 
weapons  were  used,  Bryan  fell,  suffering  from 
seven  wounds. 

To  return  to  the  poet  Allan  Ramsay:  his 
love  of  the  fine  arts  and  literature  was  un- 
bounded. In  1 72 5,  he  had  opened  a  circulating 
library,  the  first  in  the  kingdom.  Again  the 
Magistrates,  with  their  jealous  care  for  the 
mental  welfare  of  the  citizens,  interfered,  and, 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   107 

fearing  the  results  this  kind  of  reading  would 
have  upon  the  minds  of  the  youth  of  the  city, 
endeavoured  (in  1728)  to  repress  it.  The 
notorious  Erskine,  Lord  Grange,  who  led  such 
a  scandalous  life,  was  one  of  those  self-con- 
stituted guardians  of  morality,  and  suggested 
to  the  Magistrates  that  Ramsay's  books  of 
customers  should  be  inspected.  Wodrow,  in 
mentioning  this  lamentable  occurrence,  states 
that  Ramsay  got  down  books  of  plays  from 
London,  and  lent  them  out  at  an  easy  rate.  The 
regrettable  result  was  that  *'  boys,  servant-girls 
and  gentlemen  (the  juxtaposition  of  classes  is 
delightful ! )  contributed  thereto,  whereby  vice 
and  obscenity  were  dreadfully  propagated." 
It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the  attitude  of  the 
Presbytery  in  session  with  the  fact,  also 
recorded  by  the  same  authority,  that  the 
Orthodox  Club,  composed  chiefly  of  ministers, 
met  occasionally  about  this  time  and,  according 
to  his  testimony,  "  frequently  their  conversation 
was  gay  and  jocose." 

Meantime,  Anthony  Aston  had  come  into 
trouble  with  his  company,  in  regard  to  financial 
matters.     Ross,  of  the  Bean's  Coffee  House, 


108  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

had  sold  a  quantity  of  tickets  upon  which  he 
refused  to  accept  a  commission  of  one  penny 
per  seat,  making  a  total  of  £  i  o.  Aston 
neglected  to  credit  the  company  with  this  sum, 
and  a  quarrel  ensued,  which  eventually  led  to 
part  of  the  players  migrating  to  Glasgow. 
There  they  received  permission  from  Bailie 
Murdoch  to  perform  in  the  Weigh  House,  where 
they  enacted  The  Beggar's  Opera  (August, 
1728). 

About  the  year  1715,  a  theatre  was  fitted 
up  at  the  foot  of  Carruber's  Close  by  one 
Signora  Violante,  an  Italian  player,  who  com- 
menced her  entertainment  with  posturing 
exhibitions,  to  which,  owing  to  their  success, 
she  added  the  production  of  plays.  Again  the 
Presbytery  intervened  and  the  Magistrates 
interdicted  the  performance,  but  the  persistent 
Signora  was  successful  in  obtaining  a  permit 
from  the  Court  of  Session.  During  the  next 
twenty-six  years,  Taylor's  Hall  in  the  Cowgate 
was  frequently  used  by  strolling  companies. 
The  holding  capacity  of  this  place  was  £40  to 
£45.  Tony  Aston  had  produced  some  plays 
in  the  Carruber's  Close  House,  but  the  Society 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   109 

of  High  Constables  set  themselves  to  suppress 
his  **  abominable  stage  plays,"  and  the  clergy, 
joining  issue  with  the  Court  of  Session,  the 
plays  accordingly  ceased.  After  that  date, 
performances  were  of  an  ititermittent  character. 
A  performance  of  the  Beggar's  Opera  was  given 
at  Haddington  on  October  29,  1728,  **  at  the 
desire  of  several  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  of 
East  Lothian.'*  Altogether,  the  time  was  not 
a  prosperous  one  for  the  humble  followers  of 
Thespis,  at  least  so  one  is  left  to  infer  from  an 
ominous  paragraph  in  the  Edinburgh  Courant 
for  March,  1729,  where  it  mentions  that  the 
**  Scots  Company  of  Comedians,"  with  a  fine 
sense  of  forgetfulness,  had  disappeared  from 
the  city,  leaving  their  debts  behind  them. 

An  English  company  of  comedians  visited 
Edinburgh  in  1731,  and  met  with  a  gratifying 
success.  The  faithful  Wodrow  chronicles  it 
thus :  — '*  It  is  incredible  what  numbers  of  chairs 
with  men  are  carried  to  those  places.  For  some 
nights  they  made  £50  every  night,  and  that 
for  6  nights  a  week.  .  .  .  It's  a  dreadful 
corruption  of  our  youth,  and  an  eyelet  to 
prodigality  and  vanity." 


no  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Two  years  afterwards,  the  Edinburgh  com- 
pany of  players  appeared  at  the  Taylor's  Hall, 
on  June  6th,  giving  a  performance  of  The 
Beggar* s  Opera  for  the  benefit  of  the  Edinburgh 
Infirmary.  Their  repertoire  included  Othello, 
Hamlet,  Henry  IV,,  Macbeth,  and  King  Lear. 
In  the  month  of  December  they  performed 
The  Tempest,  *'  every  part,  and  even  what 
required  machinery  being  performed  in  great 
order."    (Caledonian  Mercury.) 

The  Grassmarket  was  the  scene  of  some 
remarkable  feats  in  the  year  1733,  when  two 
Italians,  father  and  son,  gave  an  exhibition  of 
tight-rope  walking.  A  rope  being  fixed 
between  the  half-moon  battery  of  the  Castk 
and  a  place  on  the  south  side  of  the  market, 
two  hundred  feet  below,  the  father  slid  down 
the  rope  in  half  a  minute,  the  son  following 
suit  and  blowing  a  trumpet  for  most  part  of 
the  way. 

Near  the  old  Manor  House  of  Pilrig,  in 
Springfield  Street,  lay  M'Culloch  of  Ardwell's 
house.  Sam  Foote  was  often  his  honoured 
guest.  M'Culloch  had  once  exploded  an 
epigram  at  the  comedian's  expense,  and,  when 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   Ill 

Foote  had  discovered  the  author,  they  at  once 
became  fast  friends.  Ever  afterwards,  Foote 
shewed  a  partiality  to  the  Scots  in  his  comedies. 
The  month  of  February,  1734,  saw  a  per- 
formance of  The  Conscious  Lovers,  which  was 
given  for  the  benefit  of  Mrs.  Woodward,  doors 
opening  at  4  P.M.  and  performance  at  6  p.m. 
In  March,  a  production  of  The  Wonder  was 
advertised,  "  the  part  of  the  Scots  Colonel  by 
Mr.  Weir,  and  that  of  his  servant  Gibby,  in 
Highland  dress,  by  Mr.  Wescomb,  and  all  the 
other  parts  to  the  best  advantage."  The  name 
of  Allan  Ramsay  appears  in  the  office  copy  of 
the  Caledonian  Mercury  as  having  paid  for  the 
advertisement.  August  saw  this  company  set 
out  for  a  tour  round  Dundee,  Montrose,  and 
Aberdeen.  At  Dundee  they  received  a 
generous  welcome,  the  Freemasons  having 
marched  in  a  body  to  the  playhouse  to  witness 
The  Jubilee  and  The  Devil  To  Pay.  Returning 
to  Edinburgh  in  December,  they  produced  a 
Pantomime.  To  meet  the  exigences  of  space, 
they  intimated  that  **  it  was  hoped  do  gent 
whatever  will  take  it  amiss  if  they  are  refused 
admittance  behind   the   scenes."     The   Edin- 


112  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

burgh  Freemasons  made  a  torchlight  procession 
in  full  regalia  to  assist  at  a  performance  of 
Henry  the  Fourth.  With  the  departure  of  this 
company  came  a  barren  year,  which  the  irre- 
pressible Ramsay  endeavoured  to  brighten  by 
re-opening  (on  November  8th,  1736)  the 
theatre  in  Carruber's  Close.  In  a  prologue,  he 
addressed  the  enemies  of  the  theatre  as  those 
who 

"  From  their  gloomy  thoughts,  and  want  of  sense, 
Think  what  diverts  the  mind,  gives  Heaven  offence." 

But  he  was  not  allowed  to  indulge  in  this 
flaunting  of  civil  power  with  impunity.  An  Act 
was  passed  against  rogues  and  vagabonds, 
which  hindered  any  persons  acting  plays  for 
hire  without  license  by  Letters  Patent  from  the 
King,  or  his  Lord  Chamberlain.  This  gave  the 
Magistrates  the  necessary  authority  to  deal 
with  the  matter,  with  the  result  that  the  theatre 
was  closed.  The  Carruber's  Close  house  was 
afterwards  used  by  Debating  Clubs  and 
Churches  as  a  meeting-place,  and  was  one  of 
the  places  in  which  the  famous  Edward  Irving 
frequently    spoke.      Ramsay's    dramatic    pre^ 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   113 

dilections  were  accompanied  by  a  deal  of 
monetary  loss,  although  it  never  seemed  to 
damp  his  enthusiasm.  That  he  was  not  without 
honour  outside  his  own  City  may  be  gathered 
from  the  Caledonian  Mercury,  February  9th, 

'*  The  4th  inst.  several  young  gents  of  this 
place  (Montrose)  acted  Mr.  Allan  Ramsay's 
celebrated  Pastoral  comedy  for  the  diversion 
of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  about  this  Town 
with  all  the  dresses  suitable,  re-enapting  the 
farce  of  The  Mock  Doctor  two  succeeding 
nights.  The  money  taken,  after  deducting 
necessary  charges,  being  very  considerable, 
was  distributed  amongst  the  poor." 

The  London  actor,  John  Ryan,  opened  up  a 
season  in  the  newly-erected  theatre  at  Canon- 
gate  in  1746.  This  building  was  situate  in  a 
back  area  near  St.  John's  Gross,  which  is  now 
called  Playhouse  Close.  It  held  £70,  and  in- 
cluded box  seats  at  half-a-crown  and  pit  is.  6d. 
During  the  subsequent  seasons,  it  had  a  good 
following,  with  companies  boasting  the  names 
of  Lees,  Digges,  Mrs.  Bellamy,  and  Mrs.  Ward 
as  principals.     In  1 749,  it  had  the  questionable 


114  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

honour  of  providing  the  scene  of  a  memorable 
disturbance.  Being  the  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  Culloden,  some  English  officers  com- 
manded the  orchestra  to  strike  up  an  obnoxious 
air  known  as  *'  Culloden,"  but  in  its  place  they 
played  "  You're  welcome,  Charlie."  The 
officers  drew  their  swords  and  made  an 
onslaught  on  both  actors  and  musicians;  but 
they  had  reckoned  without  the  audience,  who 
commenced  a  spirited  attack  on  the  disturbers, 
torn-up  benches  being  used  as  weapons.  Then 
the  officers,  changing  their  tactics,  made  for  the 
gallery,  only  to  find  the  doors  securely  barred. 
Outside,  the  Highland  chairmen,  having  got 
wind  of  the  riot,  marched  up  the  stairs,  and 
attacked  them  in  the  rear  with  their  chair-poles. 
Finally,  the  truculent  officers  were  disarmed  and 
ignominously  expelled. 

Another  riot  took  place  at  a  performance  of 
Garrick's  High  Life  Below  Stairs.  The  foot- 
men sent  in  a  letter  to  the  management 
threatening  vengeance  upon  the  players  if  it 
should  be  produced.  On  the  second  night  they 
carried  out  their  threat.  The  footmen  being 
placed  in  the  gallery,  as  was  the  custom,  during 


EDINBURGH'S  EARLY  DRAMA.   115 

the  play  *  a  prodigious  noise  was  heard  from 
that  quarter."  Their  masters,  assisted  by  the 
audience,  endeavoured  to  quieten  them  by 
forcible  means,  and,  a  tough  fight  ensuing,  the 
footmen  were  ejected,  with  subsequent  loss  of 
free  entrance  to  the  theatre. 


116  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE   EDINBURGH    STAGE. 

About  the  year  1752,  Mr.  Lee  purchased  the 
Canongate  Theatre  from  the  original  pro- 
prietors for  the  sum  of  £645. 

Its  management,  however,  passed  through  a 
variety  of  hands.  Dissensions  arose  amongst 
the  performers  themselves,  factions  were 
created,  and  the  end  was  reached  one  evening 
when,  during  a  performance  of  Hamlet,  the 
auditors  completed  the  tragedy  of  disaster  by 
wrecking  the  theatre  and  setting  it  afire.  A 
long  spell  of  litigation  followed ;  but  at  length 
the  house  was  refitted,  and,  amongst  the  first 
items  of  imf)ortance  that  may  be  cited  was  the 
production  of  Douglas,  by  the  Reverend  John 
Home,  minister  of  Athelstaneford,  on  14th 
December,  1756.     The  cast  included— 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE,       117 

Douglas,      ...  ...  West  Digges. 

Lord  Randolph,  ...  Younger. 

Glenavon,  ...  Love. 

Old  Norval,  ...  Hayman. 

Lady  Randolph,  ...  Mrs.  Ward. 

Anna,  ...  ...  Mrs.  Hopkin. 

A  persistent  candidate  for  dramatic  honours, 
Home  had,  in  1749,  taken  up  his  Greek 
tragedy,  Agls,  to  the  '*  great  little  Garrick," 
but  was  unsuccessful  in  placing  it.  Six  years 
afterwards,  he  renewed  his  application  with  the 
new  play,  Douglas,  and  his  second  attempt 
failed  to  find  any  encouragement  from  Garrick. 
Doubtless  the  fact  that  Roscius  had  then 
reached  his  fortieth  year  may  have  had  some 
effect  in  dissuading  him  from  a  portrayal  of 
the  stripling  "  Douglas."  With  the  glamour 
of  his  play  fresh  upon  him,  Home  returned  to 
Edinburgh,  and  his  staunchest  friends  advised 
its  performance  at  the  Canongate  Theatre. 
Amongst  the  stories  in  connection  with  the  play, 
there  is  one  which  tells  of  a  private  rehearsal 
where  several  notabilities  took  up  the  different 


118  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

parts.  The  historian  Robertson  played  Lord 
Randolph;  David  Hume,  Glenavou;  Dr. 
Carlyle,  Old  Norval;  John  Home,  Douglas; 
Dr.  Adam  Ferguson,  Lady  Randolph;  and 
Hugh  Blair,  Anna,  before  a  select  audience, 
which  included  Lord  Elibank,  Milton,  Kames, 
and  the  eccentric  Monboddo.  At  its  first  public 
performance,  a  crowded  audience  attested  its 
welcome  to  the  first  Scottish  tragedy,  amongst 
whom  were  many  of  the  clergy,  who,  in  the 
language  of  the  record,  "  skulked  into  corners.*' 
*'  The  town,"  wrote  Rev.  Dr.  Carlyle,  *'  was  in 
an  uproar  of  exultation  that  a  Scotsman  did 
write  a  tragedy  of  the  first  rate,  and  that  its 
merits  were  submitted  to  them."  Amongst  the 
players.  Dr.  Carlyle  expresses  his  surprise  and 
admiration  of  Mrs.  Ward  as  Lady  Randolph. 
The  production  of  this  play  was  not  without 
results.  To  the  Kirk,  it  was  a  dire  awakening 
to  the  condition  of  mind  of  their  people,  and 
the  popularity  of  the  play  was  regarded  as  a 
menace  to  the  progress  of  religion  and  morality. 
On  the  5th  of  January,  1757,  the  Presbytery 
of  Edinburgh  issued  an  *'  Admonition  and 
Exhortation  "  to  all  within  their  bounds:  — 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       119 

"  The  Presbytery  taking  into  their  serious 
consideration  the  decHning  state  of  reUgion, 
the  open  profanation  of  the  Lord's  Day,  the 
contempt  of  pubHc  worship,  the  growing 
luxury  and  levit>-  of  the  present  age — in  which 
so  many  seem  lovers  of  pleasure  more  than 
lovers  of  God — and  being  particularly 
affected  with  the  unprecedented  countenance 
given  of  late  to  the  Playhouse  in  this  place, 
when  the  state  of  the  nation  and  the  circupi- 
stances  of  the  poor,  make  such  hurtful  enter- 
tainments still  more  pernicious,  judged  it 
their  indispensable  duty  to  express  in  the 
most  open  and  solemn  manner,  the  deep 
concern  they  feel  on  this  occasion.  The 
opinion  which  the  Christian  Church  has 
always  entertained  of  stage  plays  and 
players  as  prejudicial  to  the  interest  of 
religion  and  morality  is  well  known,  and  the 
fatal  influence  which  they  commonly  have  on 
the  far  greater  part  of  mankind,  particularly 
the  younger  sort,  is  too  obvious  to  be  called 
in  question.  To  enumerate  how  many  ser- 
vants, apprentices,  and  students  in  different 
branches  of  literature  in  this  city  and 
suburbs,  have  been  seduced  from  their  proper 
business  by  attending  the  stage  would  be  a 
painful,  disagreeable  task. 


120  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

"  The  Presbytery,  in  the  year  1727,  when 
consisting  of  many  pious,  prudent,  and 
learned  ministers,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the 
Churches,  being  aware  of  these  evils,  did 
prepare  a  paper,  which  was  read  from  the 
several  pulpits  within  their  bounds,  warning 
their  people  against  the  dangerous  infection 
of  the  theatre  then  erected  here.  (Carrubcr*s 
Close.)  In  the  year  1737,  the  legislature 
in  their  great  wisdom,  did,  by  an  Act, 
the  loth  of  George  the  Second,  enact  and 
declare :  — *  That  every  person  who  should, 
for  hire  or  reward,  act  or  cause  to  be  acted, 
any  play,  or  other  entertainment  of  the  stage, 
without  the  special  license  and  authority 
mentioned  in  the  said  Act,  should  be  deemed 
a  rogue  and  vagabond,  and  for  every  such 
offence  should  forfeit  the  sum  of  £50 
sterling.'  At  that  time  a  project  was  set  on 
foot  to  obtain  a  licensed  theatre  in  this  city, 
but  the  masters  and  professors  of  the 
University,  supported  by  the  Magistrates, 
having  prepared  a  petition  setting  forth  the 
dangerous  tendency  of  a  playhouse  here,  with 
respect  to  the  imjwrtant  interests  of  virtue 
and  learning,  the  project  was  laid  aside. 
The  players,  however,  being  so  audacious  as 
to  continue  to  act  in  defiance  of  the  law,  the 
Presbytery  did  at  their  own  charge,  prose- 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       121 

cute  them  before  the  Court  of  Session  and 
prevailed  in  the  process.  The  players  were 
fined  in  terms  of  law;  and  warrants  being 
issued  for  apprehending  them,  they  fled  from 
justice.  But  others  came  in  their  place,  who 
since  that  time  have  attempted  to  elude  the 
law,  by  changing  the  name  of  the  playhouse 
into  that  of  Concert  Hall.  As  such  a  slight 
evasion,  the  mere  change  of  a  name,  could 
not  make  the  smallest  variation  in  the  nature 
of  the  thing,  the  Presbytery  continued  to  do 
all  in  their  power  and  in  their  sphere,  to 
prevent  the  growing  evil;  and  think  them- 
selves at  this  time  loudly  called  upon  in  one 
body,  and  with  one  voice,  to  expostulate,  in 
the  bowels  of  love  and  compassion,  with  all 
under  their  care  and  instruction." 

Then  follows  the  usual  exhortation  against  the 
*'  infection  of  the  stage  and  its  illegal  and 
dangerous  entertainments . ' ' 

On  the  1 2  th  January,  Mr.  White,  minister  of 
Liberton,  was  called  before  the  Presbytery  on 
this  charge.  He  confessed  his  guilt,  but 
pleaded  that  he  had  **  endeavoured  to  conceal 
himself  in  a  corner. "  (The  defence  is  so  beauti- 
ful that  comment  is  unnecessary.)  In  respect 
9 


122  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  this  circumstance,  some  members  moved  that 
only  a  solemn  rebuke  should  be  administered, 
but  Mr.  White  was  suspended  till  2nd  February. 
The  Presbytery  of  Dunse,  after  rebuking  two 
of  their  members  in  accordance  with  the  tenor 
of  the  aforesaid  exhortation,  proceeded  to 
characterise  this  as  arbitrary,  pointing  out  that 
no  mention  is  made  of  any  Scriptural  passages 
or  Acts  of  General  Assembly  *'  to  which  the 
conduct  of  our  brethren  was  repugnant ;  Whilst 
admitting  that  certain  Acts  of  the  Edinburgh 
Presbytery  in  1737  were  quoted,"  they  do  not 
regard  that  these  should  be  regarded  as 
standards  by  the  Dunse  Presbytery.  According 
to  information,  the  only  Church  law  relating 
to  the  theatre  read:  — 

*•  That  no  comedies  or  tragedies  or  such 
plays,  should  be  made  on  any  subject  of 
canonical  Scripture,  nor  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
If  any  minister  be  the  writer  of  such  a  play, 
he  shall  be  deprived  of  his  mmistry.  As 
*  for  plays  of  another  subject,  they  also 
should  be  examined  before  they  be  pro- 
pounded publicly."  (Acts  of  Assembly, 
1574.) 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       123 

One  of  the  arguments  used  in  this  famous 
controversy  by  the  Church  was  **  the  dissolute 
lives  and  infamous  characters  of  the  players.'* 
As  a  specimen  of  vituperation,  the  following, 
taken  from  a  pamphlet  of  the  period,  is  in- 
teresting :  — 

*'  It  is  agreed  upon  by  sober  pagans  them- 
selves that  playactors  are  the  most  profligate 
wretches  and  vilest  vermin  that  hell  ever 
vomited  out:  that  they  are  the  filth  and 
garbage  of  the  earth,  the  scum  and  stain  of 
human  nature,  the  excrement  and  refuse  of 
all  mankind :  the  pests  and  plagues  of  human 
society;  the  debauchers  of  men's  minds  and 
morals,  unclean  beasts,  idolatrous  papists  or- 
atheists,  and  the  most  horrid  and  abandoned- 
villains  that  ever  the  sun  shone  upon." 

In  the  storm  of  ridicule  that  followed.  Dr.  Adam 
Ferguson  produced  a  pamphlet  entitled  The 
Morality  of  Stage  Plays  Considered,  in  which 
he  defended  the  dramatic  corps,  from  the 
Scriptural  examples  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren, 
and  pointed  out  that  the  only  prohibition  was 
against  the  use  of  Canonical  Scriptures  and 
performances  on  Sunday.     Another  contributor 


124  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

to  the  satirical  side  of  the  question  was  Dr. 
Carlyle,  minister  of  Inverness,  who  published 
his  Reasons  Why  the  Tragedy  of  Douglas 
should  be  burned  by  the  Hands  of  the  Common 
Hangman,  and  a  second  one  for  the  delectation 
of  the  lower  classes,  A  History  of  the  Bloody 
Tragedy  of  Douglas  as  it  is  now  performed  at 
the  Theatre  in  the  Canongate. 

The  only  ostensible  purpose  this  clerical 
opposition  served  was  to  advertise  the  play  so 
extensively  that  full  houses  became  the  order 
of  the  day  (or  rather,  evening)  at  the  Canon- 
gate. 

Five  ministers,  who  were  auditors  at  the  first 
performance,  were  called  up  before  their  several 
Presbyteries,  and,  having  made  their  sub- 
mission, were  accordingly  rebuked.  The  excuse 
made  by  Mr.  Steele,  the  minister  of  Stair,  was 
that  the  theatre  was  so  far  distant  from  his 
house,  that  he  considered  he  would  not  be 
known,  and  his  presence  would  therefore  give 
no  offence.  The  Presbytery  of  Haddington 
dealt  with  Mr.  Home,  the  head  and  front  of 
the  offending.  At  first  he  asked  for  a  delay, 
and  subsequently  he  tendered  his  resignation. 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       125 

Dalkeith  Presbytery  brought  Dr.  Carlyle  before 
them,  but  the  worthy  Doctor  would  neither 
admit  his  sin,  nor  submit  his  penitence.  A  libel 
was  served  upon  him,  charging  him  with  being 
in  company  with  players  who  were,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  law,  of  bad  fame:  with  rehearsing 
Douglas:  with  appearing  openly  in  a  box  at 
Canongate  playhouse,  and  having  turned  a 
gentleman  out  of  it.  (Needless  to  say,  the  gent 
referred  to  had  been  "  twining  the  vine-leaves 
too  freely  in  his  hair.")  The  matter  was  dis- 
cussed for  some  months,  and  terminated  with  a 
rebuke  being  administered  by  the  Synod  of 
Lothian  and  Tweedale.  Curiously  enough,  the 
Doctor  was  selected,  two  years  afterwards,  to 
preach  before  the  High  Commissioner:  about 
eleven  years  later,  he  occupied  the  Moderator's 
chair,  and  at  his  death  he  had  attained  one  of 
the  highest  positions  in  the  Church. 

A  quotation  from  Cunningham*s  History  on 
this  question  may  not  be  altogether  indpropos  : 

'*  The  termination  of  the  proceedings 
before  the  Church  courts  did  not  end  the 
controversy  they  originated  —  nor  is  it 
terminated  yet.    The  one  party  declared  that. 


126  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

never  since  the  day  when  Galileo  was  thrown 
into  the  prison  of  the  Inquisition  for  saying 
the  earth  revolved  round  the  sun,  had  any- 
thing so  disgraceful  in  the  Church  occurred. 
Home  had  written  the  noblest  drama  of 
which  his  country  could  boast,  and  for  this 
he  was  compelled  to  evacuate  his  parish  by 
the  terrors  of  deposition.  The  Church  had 
degraded  the  man  whom  all  ages  would 
delight  to  honour.  Was  there  anything 
essentially  sinful  in  dramatic  composition? 
If  there  were  bad  plays,  might  there  not  be 
good  plays,  and  was  it  not  so  with  Douglas? 
Was  not  its  morality  faultless,  and  were  not 
the  feelings  it  delineated  the  noblest  that  can 
fill  the  breast — th^  love  of  a  mother  for  a 
lost  child,  and  the  ambition  of  a  youth  to 
excel?  And  why  this  horror  for  the  Theatre ; 
is  not  a  man  so  framed  by  God  that  he  must 
have  amusement?  And,  if  he  is  denied  the 
amusement  resulting  from  theatrical  repre- 
sentation, is  it  not  certain  that  he  will  seek 
for  excitement  of  a  coarser  and  more  ruinous 
kind?  Has  it  not  been  proved  by  experience, 
is  it  not  written  in  the  reports  of  the  Police- 
Courts,  that  when  theatres  are  shut,  crime 
increases?  It  was  agreed  on  the  other  side 
that  the  playhouse  had  ever  been  the 
favourite  haunt  of  vice.     The  question  was — 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       127 

What  was  the  duty  of  Christians  looking 
at  the  stage  simply  as  it  was,  notoriously 
immoral?  Were  not  the  great  majority  of 
the  plays,  even  those  of  Shakespeare  him- 
self, confessedly  obscene?  Were  not  things 
spouted  on  the  stage  that  could  not  be 
repeated  in  the  parlour?  Were  not  many 
pure  minds  first  familiarised  with  vice  by 
seeing  it  represented  on  the  boards  of  a 
theatre,  many  consciences  so  stunned  that 
they  never  after  recovered  their  tenderness? 
And  how  is  the  play  of  Douglas  to  be 
defended  on  high  Christian  principles?  Did 
it  not  use  language  which  looked  very  like 
swearing?  Did  it  not  give  its  sanction  to 
something  very  like  suicide?" 

As  exhibiting  the  great  advance  in  clerical 
opinion,  a  noteworthy  fact  is  recorded  by  Scott, 
who  states  that,  when  the  General  Assembly 
sat  in  1784,  they  experienced  considerable 
difficulty  in  procuring  a  full  attendance  of 
members  on  the  evenings  upon  which  Mrs. 
Siddons  performed. 

The  sequel  to  Garrick's  second  refusal  of 
Douglas,  consequent  upon  its  Northern  success, 
happened  when  '*  silver-toned  "  Barry  produced 


128  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

it  at  Covent  Garden,  where  the  play  met  with 
instant  recognition.  Garrick's  choice  of  this 
author's  work  fell  upon  Agis,  which  proved 
a  sorry  failure,  its  rhetoric  fulsomeness  being 
fatal  to  any  measure  of  success. 

In  1759  a  dromedary  and  camel  were 
exhibited  at  Craig's  Close,  where,  according  to 
the  Edinburgh  Herald  and  Chronicle,  they  were 
deemed  "  the  two  wonders  of  the  world."  In 
this  Close  was  the  tavern,  the  Isle  of  Man  Arms, 
where  foregathered  those  early  Bohemians, 
**  The  Cape  Club."  Tom  Lancashire,  the 
comedian,  was  the  first  sovereign  of  the  Club, 
as  Sir  Cape,  about  the  year  1 764.  Amongst 
its  list  of  members  were  included  the  names  of 
Ferguson,  the  poet ;  David  Herd,  Walter  Ross, 
Sir  Henry  Raeburn,  and  the  notorious  Deacon 
Brodie. 

With  the  erection  of  the  New  Theatre  Royal, 
the  old  Canongate  house  was  deserted  in  1767. 
Of  it,  Mr.  James  Grant  says :  — 

**  The  front  land,  through  which  an  access 
gives  to  the  old  Playhouse  Close,  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  Scotch  Street  architecture  in  the 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       129 

time  of  Charles  the  First.  It  has  a  row  of 
dormer  windows,  with  another  of  storm 
windows  in  a  steep  roof  that  reminds  one  of 
those  in  Bruges  and  Antwerp.  Over  a  door- 
way within  the  Close  is  an  ornamental  tablet, 
the  inscription  of  which  has  become  defaced, 
and  the  old  theatre  itself  has  long  since  given 
place  to  private  dwellings.  In  one  of  those 
lived  in  1784  a  man  named  Wilson  Gavin 
whose  name  appears  in  Peter  Williamson's 
Directory  as  an  '  Excellent  Shoemaker  and 
Leather  Tormentor.'  " 

The  new  theatre  was  erected  in  Shakespeare 
Square,  which,  at  that  time,  formed  part  of 
the  Orphan  Hospitals  Park,  where  George 
Whitfield  used  to  preach,  and  where  the  General 
Post  Office  now  stands.  The  famous  Methodist, 
finding,  upon  his  return  to  the  scene  of  former 
labours,  that  a  theatre  had  been  erected  thereon, 
was  full  of  indignation  to  think  that  a  place, 
which  he  had  deemed  to  be  rendered  sacred  by 
reason  of  the  sermons  he  had  delivered,  should 
be  turned  to  such  base  uses.  In  his  judgment, 
"  the  ground  was  appropriated  to  the  service  of 
Satan."  It  was  a  positive  indication  of  the 
increasing  wickedness  of  society,  **  a  plucking 


130  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

up  of  God's  standard,  and  a  planting  of  the 
devil's  in  its  place." 

The  Act  for  the  New  Town  of  Edinburgh 
contained  a  clause,  which  empowered  the  Crown 
to  grant  Royal  Letters  Patent  for  a  Theatre. 
Prior  to  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  not  one 
of  these  houses  was  countenanced  by  the  law 
of  the  land.  On  the  i6th  March,  1768,  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  Theatre  Royal  was  laid, 
and  for  ninety  years  it  formed  the  scene  of 
some  of  the  most  notable  triumphs  in  Scots 
drama.  Engraved  on  a  silver  plate  of  the  stone 
was  the  inscription :  — 

"  The  first  stone  of  this  new  theatre  was 
laid  on  the  i6th  day  of  March  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1768  by  David  Ross,  patentee 
and  first  proprietor  of  a  licensed  stage  in 
Scotland.  May  this  theatre  tend  to  promote 
every  moral  and  every  virtuous  principle,  and 
may  the  representation  be  such 

To  make  mankind  in  conscious  virtue  bfild 
Live  on  each  scene,  and  be  what  they  behold." 

Ross  was  the  late  proprietor  of  the  Canongate 
Theatre.  The  Scots  Magazine  for  1768  gives 
some  details  as  to  the  financial  position  of  the 
new  house. 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       131 

**  Mr.  Ross  had  to  raise  £2500  by  25 
£  1 00  shares,  for  which  the  subscribers  were 
to  receive  3  0/0  and  free  access  to  all  per- 
formances and  every  part  of  the  house,  except 
behind  the  scenes.  The  house  is  to  be  100 
feet  in  length  by  50  broad.  To  furnish  new 
scenes,  wardrobe,  and  necessary  decorations 
will,  it  is  computed  cost  £1500  more  and 
the  whole  building  is  to  be  insured  for  £4000 
and  mortgaged  in  security  to  pay  the  interest. 
As  it  would  be  impossible  to  procure  good 
performers  should  the  tickets  continue  at  the 
low  prices  now  paid,  it  is  proposed  to  make 
the  boxes  4s.,  the  pit  3s.,  the  first  gallery  2s., 
and  the  upper  is.  *  For  these  prices,'  says 
Mr.  Ross,  '  shall  vie  with  those  of  London 
and  Dublin.'  There  shall  be  five  capital  men 
actors,  one  good  man  singer,  one  second 
singer,  three  capital  women  singers,  one 
capital  man  dancer,  and  one  woman  dancer ; 
the  rest  as  good  as  can  be  had :  the  orchestra 
shall  be  conducted  with  a  good  first  fiddler^ 
as  a  leader,  a  harpsichord,  and  the  rest  of 
the  band  persons  of  merit." 

The  total  cost  of  the  building  was  £5,000, 
and,  with  the  ruling  prices  of  3s.,  2s.,  and  is., 
it  held  £140,  the  Canongate  holding  about  £80 
at  prices  of  2s.  6d.,  is.  6d.,  and  is.    The  first 


132  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

two  seasons  at  the  new  house  were  in  the  nature 
of  a  failure,  one  cause  being  that  the  theatre  was 
so  difficult  of  access.  During  the  next  three 
years  it  was  leased  by  Samuel  Foote,  of  the 
London  Haymarket,  at  an  annual  rental  of  500 
guineas.  Opening  in  the  year  1770,  with 
Woodward  and  Weston  in  the  caste,  in  his  own 
comedy,  The  Commissary,  he  had  a  splendid 
season,  rumour  stating  that  he  succeeded  in 
clearing  £1,000  for  that  period.  Here,  too,  on 
the  24th  November,  he  produced  his  comedy, 
The  Minor,  in  which  a  burlesque  of  Whitfield 
and  the  other  evangelists  was  given  to  an 
audience  that  included  Robert  Dundas  of 
Arniston,  Lord  President  of  the  Court.  The 
following  day  Dr.  Walker,  at  the  High  Church, 
made  a  bitter  attack  upon  Foote  for  "  the  gross 
profanation  of  the  theatre  on  the  preceding 
evening." 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year,  Foote,  finding 
it  difficult  to  manage  two  theatres  satisfactorily, 
conveyed  his  lease  of  the  Royal  to  West 
Digges  and  Bland.  Starting  with  the  beauti- 
ful   Mrs.    Hartley    in    their    company,    they 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.        133 

managed  to  clear  £1,400  in  the  first  season. 
Digges  and  Bland  were  both  ex-army  men.  The 
former  had  been  a  favourite  at  the  Canongate 
house,  and  the  latter  was  equally  well  known, 
having  remained  in  public  favour  for  over 
twenty-three  years.  Bland  had  the  honour  to 
be  the  uncle  of  the  famous  Mrs.  Jordan,  and 
was  also  related  to  Edmund  Glover. 

In  1774,  Foote  came  over  from  Dublin  for  a 
seven  night  engagement,  for  which  he  received 
the  sum  of  £250,  a  not  inconsiderable  salary 
for  a  star  in  those  days.  During  the  manage- 
ment of  the  above,  most  of  the  London  stars, 
including  Bellamy,  Sheridan,  Barry,  and 
Mr,  and  Mrs.  Yates,  appeared  at  the  Theatre 
Royal.  Although  of  London  birth,  Mrs.  Yates 
was  of  Scottish  parentage.  If  one  may  judge 
from  a  pecuniary  pK)int  of  view,  her  talents  were 
regarded  as  being  upon  a  high  level,  for  her 
husband  and  herself  were  paid  700  guineas  at 
the  end  of  one  season  by  Digges,  whilst  the 
next  lessee,  Mr.  Jackson,  paid  her  100  guineas 
per  night.  At  this  period,  the  profession 
enjoyed    the    patronage   of    the   legal   circles. 


134  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

The  fashion  had  been  set,  and  gradually  the 
aristocracy  moulded  their  customs  to  suit  their 
taste  for  the  drama:  indeed,  dinner  was  usually 
served  at  4  o'clock  to  enable  the  bon  ton  to 
attend  the  theatre,  where  the  performance 
commenced  at  6.30. 

The  assumption  of  the  managerial  reins  by 
Mr.  John  Jackson  in  1781  brought  the  advent 
of  Mrs.  Siddons  in  Edinburgh.  Her  first 
appearance  was  made  on  22nd  May,  1784,  in 
Venice  Preserved,  where  she  played  Belvidera 
to  the  Jaffier  of  Wood,  an  Edinburgh  man. 
That  the  engagement  was  a  successful  one  is 
confirmed  by  an  excerpt  from  the  Edinburgh 
Weekly  Magazine  of  that  date:  — 

"  The  manager  took  the  precaution  after 
the  first  night  to  have  an  officer  and  Guard 
of  Soldiers  at  the  principal  door.  But 
several  scuffles  having  ensued  through  the 
eagerness  of  the  people  to  get  places,  and 
the  soldiers  having  been  rash  enough  to  use 
their  bayonets,  it  was  thought  advisable  to 
withdraw  the  guards  on  the  third  night,  lest 
any  accident  had  happened  from  the  pressure 
of  the  crowd,  who  began  to  assemble  round 
the  doors  at  1 1  in  the  forenoon." 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       135 

Her  first  performance  was  not  without  its  trials. 
The  undemonstrative  character  of  her  audience 
was  not  an  inspiring  spectacle.  Thomas 
Campbell,  in  speaking  of  her  reception,  and  its 
apparent  coldness,  tells  how  Mrs.  Siddons, 
having  summoned  all  her  powers  in  an  effort  to 
electrify  the  audience,  she  paused  and  looked  at 
the  sea  of  stony  faces.  The  deep  silence  was 
at  length  broken  by  a  voice  exclaiming,  "  That's 
no'  bad  I  *'  The  ludicrous  parsimony  of  praise 
at  once  convulsed  the  audience  with  laughter. 
But  the  laugh  was  followed  by  such  thunders 
of  applause  **  that,  amidst  her  stunned  and 
nervous  agitation,  she  was  not  without  fear  of 
the  galleries  coming  down." 

For  this  first  visit  her  repertoire  included  The 
Gamester,  Mourning  Bride,  Douglas,  Isabella, 
Jane  Shore,  and  The  Grecian  Daughter.  Her 
earnings  for  the  ten  nights  were  £50  nightly, 
with  an  additional  sum  of  £350  which  she 
received  on  the  night  of  her  benefit,  as 
well  as  a  magnificent  presentation  of  plate. 
On  the  second  visit  in  1 785  there  was  a  decided 
increase  in  the  figures,  £120  per  night  being, 
the  average  earning,  with  £200  for  a  perform- 


136  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

ance  of  The  Gamester.  As  an  example  of 
the  furore  her  appearance  created,  **  a  certain 
set  of  gents,  by  subscribing  £200  as  a  guarantee 
beforehand,  considered  themselves  very  for- 
tunate in  securing  private  and  early  entrance  to 
the  pit."  On  one  day  alone,  2,557  applications 
were  made  for  630  places.  Amongst  the  many 
alleged  incidents  which  happened  during  her 
Edinburgh  visit,  there  is  one  which  may  appeal 
largely  to  the  superstitious.  A  young  Aberdeen- 
shire heiress,  Miss  Gordon  of  Gicht,  was  borne 
out  of  her  box  in  hysterics,  screaming  the  last 
words  she  had  caught  from  the  great  actress, 
**Ohl  my  Biron,  my  Bironl"  In  the  course 
of  a  short  time,  she  was  married  to  the  Hon. 
John  Byron,  and  came  down  to  posterity  as  the 
mother  of  Lord  Byron. 

In  1788,  a  new  patent  was  procured  in  the 
names  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  and  Henry 
Dundas  (afterwards  Viscoimt  Melville),  with 
the  consent  of  Mr.  Jackson,  at  whose  expense 
it  was  taken  out.  Jackson  becoming  bankrupt, 
Stephen  Kemble  secured  a  one  year's  lease  of 
the  theatre,  his  principal  performances  therein 
being  Macbeth  and  Douglas. 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       137 

That  the  rigorous  attention  to  archaeological 
details,  which  is  now  the  rule,  was  not  so 
marked  in  those  days  is  evident  from  a  perusal 
of  Donaldson's  Recollections  of  an  Actor 
( i8 1 5),  where  he  remarks,  **  I  have  seen  Mac- 
beth dressed  in  a  red  officer's  coat,  sash,  blue 
pants,  Hessian  boots  and  cocked  hat.'* 

The  following  year,  Mrs.  Esten,  a  favourite' 
actress,  came  into  possession  of  the  lease. 
Kemble,  disappointed  at  having  missed  his 
opportunity,  erected  a  rival  house  facing  Leith 
.Walk,  at  the  junction  of  Little  King  Street  with 
Broughton  Street,  which  he  called  **  The 
Circus."  An  injunction  was  obtained  against 
Kemble  to  prevent  his  producing  plays,  but, 
although  afterwards  the  house  confined  itself 
to  equestrian  displays,  nevertheless  it  proved 
a  somewhat  serious  rival.  Latterly  '*  The 
Circus  "  adopted  the  title  of  "  The  Adelphi 
Theatre,"  and  then  occupied  a  site  identical  with 
that  of  the  present  Theatre  Royal.  The  Scots 
Magazine  for  1 793  states  that,  on  January  2  ist, 
the  New  Theatre  of  Edinburgh  (formerly 
**  The  Circus  ")  was  opened  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Mr.  Stephen  Kemble  with  the  comedy 
10 


138  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  The  Rivals,  Mr.  Lee  Lewes,  a  well-known 
comedian  and  entertainer,  appearing  as  Sir 
Anthony  Absolute  and  Mrs.  Kemble  as  Julia. 
At  the  end  of  this  season,  Kemble  managed 
again  to  secure  the  Theatre  Royal,  which! 
he  held  till  the  year  1800.  An  Italian 
named  Corri  took  up  **  The  Circus,**  but  not 
with  very  gratifying  results.  A  run  of  The 
School  for  Scandal  gave  him  a  fillip,  but  that 
was  of  too  temporary  a  character  to  recoup  his 
already  heavy  losses. 

The  Theatre  Royal  became  the  scene  of  a 
memorable  riot  in  1794.  The  occasion  was  a 
performance  of  Charles  the  First.  Some  of 
the  occupants  of  the  boxes  insisted  that  the 
orchestra  should  play  **  God  Save  The  King," 
and  that,  during  its  performance,  the  audience 
should  stand  and  uncover.  To  do  this,  the  more 
democratic  of  the  auditors  flatly  refused,  with 
the  result  that  a  tumult  of  a  serious  character 
ensued.  The  row  was  continued  next  Saturday, 
when  the  rival  factions,  having  collected 
additional  adherents,  attended  the  theatre  in 
force.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the  democrats  to 
uncover  during  the  National  Anthem,  the  signal 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       139 

was  given  for  the  attack,  which  was  chiefly  made 
by  the  officers  of  the  Argyllshire  Fencibles. 
The  upshot  of  the  mel^e  was  a  profusion  of 
broken  heads  and  smashed  jaws,  many  of  the 
audience  being  carried  home  in  a  sanguinary 
condition.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  then  a  young  man 
newly  called  to  the  bar,  was  one  of  the  inter- 
ested combatants  in  this  riot. 

Amongst  the  star  actors  who  appeared  at  this 
house  was  Henry  Erskine  Johnstone,  *'  The 
Scottish  Roscius,"  who  occupied  the  boards  in, 
1 797.  He  was  the  son  of  a  High  Street  barber, 
enjoying  a  certain  measure  of  distinction. 
From  the  post  of  lawyer's  clerk,  he  had  drifted 
into  the  profession.  His  favourite  parts  were 
Hamlet  and  Douglas.  As  an  example  of 
his  versatility,  he  appeared  on  the  same  evening 
as  Hamlet,  completing  the  night's  work  by 
a  performance  as  Harlequin.  But  that  was  in 
the  days  when  the  dramatic  habitue  expected 
value  for  his  money! 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
manners  had  become  pretty  loose.  For  a 
gentleman  to  give  a  dinner  which  did  not  end 
in  his  guests  being  rendered  hors  de  combat. 


140  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

was  considered  a  breach  of  hospitality.  It  was 
unfortunate  that  amongst  many  of  these  guests 
were  members  of  the  clergy,  who  seemed  un- 
able to  rise  above  the  prevailing  tone  of  the 
society  in  which  they  lived.  The  scenes  at 
Sacrament  were  nothing  short  of  being 
disgraceful.  In  the  various  districts  the 
Sacrament  was  celebrated  in  the  market  town, 
to  which  the  people  thronged  from  the  country 
around.  For  this  function,  as  many  as  half  a 
dozen  clergymen  were  invited  to  take  up  the 
day's  services,  the  sermonic  rivalry  between 
them  forming  a  ready  excuse  for  refreshment 
intervals.  An  account  of  one  of  these  may  be 
found  in  Burns'  "  Holy  Fair,"  in  which  the  Bard 
finds  a  ready  excuse  for  his  keenest  shafts  of 


satire : 


How  mony  hearts  this  day  converts, 

O'  sinners  an'  o*  lasses  ! 
Their  hearts  o'  stane,   gin  night,  are  gane 

As  saft  as  ony  flesh  is. 
There's  some  are  fou  o'  love  divine  ; 

There's  some  are  fou  o'  brandy  ; 
An'  mony  j<»b8  that  day  begin, 

May  end  in  houghmagandy 
Some  ither  day." 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       141 

A  spot  opposite  the  Botanic  Gardens,  known 
as  the  Lover's  Loan,  Leith  Walk,  in  1802 
formed  the  site  of  *'  Barker's  Famous 
Panorama  "  from  Leicester  Square,  London, 
"  wherein  might  be  witnessed  views  of  Dover, 
the  Downs,  and  the  coast  of  France,  with  the 
embarkation  of  troops,  horse  and  foot,  10  till 
dusk,  admission   is.  per  head." 

Meantime,  the  Theatre  Royal  was  passing 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  theatrical  life, 
success  following  fast  upon  the  footsteps  of 
failure,  and  failure  upon  that  of  success.  About 
the  year  1805  the  notable  boy  prodigy.  Master 
Betty,  **  Young  Roscius,"  occupied  its  boards. 
His  performance  of  Norval  elicited  the  testi- 
mony from  Home  that,  until  now,  his  conception 
of  the  character  of  Douglas  had  never  been 
realised. 

When  the  twenty-one  years'  patent  of  the 
theatre  expired,  it  was  transferred  to  certain 
assignees,  two  of  whom  were  Walter  Scott  and 
Henry  Mackenzie,  author  of  The  Man  of 
Feeling. 

In   1809,  Henry  Siddons,  the  son  of  Mrs. 


142  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Siddons,  refitted  Corri*s  Rooms  as  a  theatre, 
at  an  expense  of  £4,000.  After  spending  two 
seasons  there,  at  the  suggestion  of  Scott,  he 
applied  for,  and  obtained,  the  patent  of  the 
Theatre  Royal,  where  he  transferred  his 
company.  The  list  of  members  included  Henry 
Siddons  (Belvoir,  Archer,  Charles  Surface); 
Terry  (Sir  Peter  Teazle,  Sir  Anthony  Absolute, 
and  Lord  Ogilvy) ;  William  Murray,  character 
actor;  Berry,  low  comedian;  and  the  three 
actresses,  Mrs.  Henry  Siddons,  Mrs.  Nicol,  and 
Mrs.  W.  Pierson.  It  was  during  Siddon's 
term  that  Joanna  Baillie's  play,  The  Family 
Legend  (January  29,  18 10)  was  produced,  the 
prologue  being  provided  by  Henry  Mackenzie 
and  the  epilogue  by  Sir  Walter  Scott.  In  the 
month  of  March,  i8io,  Mrs.  Siddons  appeared 
in  a  round  of  her  favourite  parts.  John 
Kemble  followed  in  July  with  the  Handsome 
Johnston,  then  Emery  had  a  short  season, 
and  last,  though  not  least,  the  beautiful  Mrs. 
Jordan. 

When  Henry  Siddons  died  ( 18  i  5),  the  house 
was  carried  on  by  his  widow  and  her  brother, 
William  H.  Murray.   Under  their  management, 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       143 

Miss  Elizabeth  O'Neil  appeared,  her  greatest 
successes  being  achieved  in  the  parts  of  Juliet, 
Mrs.  Haller,  Jane  Shore,  and  Mrs.  Beverley. 
In  the  words  of  the  historian,  '*  she  seemed 
designed  by  nature  to  catch  the  tragic  mantle 
as  it  fell  from  Mrs.  Siddon's  shoulders."  The 
simile,  for  theatre-goers  unfortunately,  reached 
no  higher  degree  than  that  of  seeming.  The 
year  1 8 1 6  brought  Edmund  Kean  to  the  city, 
who  appeared  in  Richard  the  Third,  Othello, 
and  Merchant  of  Venice. 

During  the  next  three  years,  the  stars  who 
visited  were  the  elder  Mathews,  Miss  Stephens, 
Charles  and  Mrs.  Kemble.  Even  those 
attractions  were  not  sufficiently  strong  to  keep 
the  wolf  from  the  door,  for  in  1 8  1 9  we  find  a 
form  of  arrestment  being  put  in  by  a  number 
of  clamorous  creditors.  The  saving  of  the 
situation  lay  in  the  hands  of  Scott.  Rob 
Roy  had  already  attained  a  gratifying  success 
at  Covent  Garden.  An  excellent  cast  was  re- 
hearsed, special  scenery  provided,  and  on  the 
I  5th  February  the  opening  night  came.  The 
result  over-reached  the  most  extravagant 
hopes,  public  opinion  declaring  it  one  of  the 


144  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

greatest  theatrical  hits  of  the  times,  and  indeed, 
in  Scotland,  it  may  still  be  regarded  as  such, 
if  the  testimony  of  perennial  revivals  be  the 
ultimate  criterion.  The  piece  ran  for  forty-one 
nights,  which,  although  apparently  a  short  run 
according  to  modern  experience,  was  considered 
a  record  in  these  days. 

The  principals  in  the  cast  were :  — 


Rob  Roy,     ... 
Capt.  Thornton, 
Bailie, 

Dougal  Cratur, 
Helen  McGregor, 


Hamerton. 

Murray. 

Mackay. 

Duff. 

Mrs.  Renaud. 


The  remainder  of  the  Waverley  dramas 
followed  upon  the  heels  of  this  success, 
with  excellent  pecuniary  results,  financial 
troubles  having  now  ceased.  As  an  in- 
stance of  the  popularity  of  Rob  Roy,  it  is 
worthy  of  mention  that,  up  till  185 1,  it  had 
been  acted  about  four  hundred  times  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  and  there  is  a  record  of  its 
having  had  a  fifty  nights'  run  with  Ryder's 
company  at  Perth  in  1829.  It  was  Rob  Roy 
which  George  the  Fourth  chose  for  interpreta- 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.        145 

tion  on  his  visit  to  Edinburgh  in  1822,  when 
it  was  played  by  command  at  the  Theatre  Royal 
on  27th  August.  The  occasion  was  a  memor- 
able one  and  spoke  volumes  for  the  loyalty  of 
the  Edinburgh  citizens.  In  the  early  morning, 
the  audience  commenced  to  assemble  at 
the  doors,  and  at  the  opening  hour  it 
was  feared  the  tremendous  crush  might 
end  in  a  serious  loss  of  life.  But  the  good 
sense  of  the  crowd  asserted  itself,  and  every- 
one managed  to  enter  the  theatre  in  safety. 
As  a  record  of  the  period  says: — **  All  the 
wealth,  rank,  and  beauty  of  Scotland  filled  the 
boxes,  and  the  waving  of  tartan  plaids  and 
plumed  bonnets  produced  hurricanes  of  ac- 
clamation long  before  the  arrival  of  the  King, 
who  occupied  a  species  of  throne  in  the  centre 
box,  and  behind  him  stood  the  Marquis  of 
Montrose,  the  Earl  of  Fife,  and  other  nobles. 
At  his  entrance  the  entire  audience  joined  the 
orchestra  in  the  '  National  Anthem.'  " 

Reverting  to  Corri's  Rooms,  which  survived 
under  the  name  of  **  The  Pantheon  '*  for  many 
years,  the  house  again  made  a  bid  for  public 
favour  in  December,   1823,  opening  up  as  the 


146  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Caledonian  Theatre  under  the  management  of 
Henry  Johnston,  who  produced  a  series 
of  melodramas,  amongst  others  being  The 
Orphan  of  Geneva.  The  former  ill-fate  pursued 
it,  however,  and  after  a  sufficiently  tiresome 
share  of  losses,  Johnston  was  forced  to  resign 
himself  to  the  inevitable,  after  which  he  left 
Edinburgh.  Seven  years  afterwards  he  re- 
turned, playing  four  nights  at  this  theatre,  then 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  C.  Bass.  After 
fulfilling  this  engagement,  he  acted  for  several 
years  at  the  London  theatres,  but,  fortune 
failing  to  shine  too  consistently  upon  his  efforts, 
in  1838  he  sailed  for  America,  adopting  that 
more  congenial  clime  as  his  home.  This  theatre 
underwent  all  the  vicissitudes  of  dramatic 
fortune.  For  some  time  it  was  under  the 
management  of  R.  H.  Wyndham,  with  the 
designation  of  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  but  it  was 
ultimately  burned  down  in  1853.  On  its  site 
was  built  the  Queen's  Theatre  and  Opera  House. 
Again  in  1865  the  fire  claimed  it  as  a  victim, 
several  lives  being  lost  by  the  fall  of  the  walls. 
A  third  time  it  was  re-constructed,  and  a  third 
time  it  was  burned  down  ( 1874).     ^^  January, 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       147 

1876,  the  present  Theatre  Royal  was  opened, 
the  architect  being  Mr.  C.  J.  Phipps. 

To  the  old  Theatre  Royal  in  Shakespeare 
Square  many  stars  had  come.  Here  Vanden- 
hoff  the  elder  {circa  1825)  appeared  as  Sir 
Giles  Overreach,  and  as  Sir  William  Wallace  in 
The  Battle  of  Falkirk;  Denham,  who  played 
James  VI.  to  Murray's  "Jingling  Geordie"; 
Mrs.  Renaud,  tragedienne ;  Mrs.  Nicol  as 
leading  old  lady ;  Miss  Paton ;  and  Miss  Noel. 
The  scene  painter  was  David  Roberts,  and  the 
leader  of  orchestra,  T.  Fraser. 

The  first  dinner  of  the  Edinburgh  Theatrical 
Fund,  instituted  for  the  relief  of  decayed  actors, 
took  place  in  February,  1827.  It  is  rendered 
all  the  more  memorable  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  asserted  that  there  Sir  Walter  Scott  avowed 
himself  the  author  of  the  Waverley  Novels. 

The  twenty-one  year  lease  taken  by  Mrs. 
Henry  Siddons  expired  in  1830,  when  she  gave 
a  farewell  performance  as  Lady  Townley  in 
The  Provoked  Husband.  After  this,  she 
retired  into  private  life,  carrying  with  her  '*  the 
good  wishes  of  all  in  Edinburgh,  for  many  had 
recognised  in  her  not  merely  the  accomplished 


148  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

actress,  but  the  good  mother,  the  refined  lady, 
and  the  irreproachable  member  of  society." 

Her  brother,  William  Murray,  leased  the 
house  for  another  twenty-one  years,  retiring  in 
185 1  after  a  period  of  indifferent  success. 
Lloyd,  the  comedian,  Robinson,  and  Leslie  had 
a  spell  of  management,  but,  failing  to  make  the 
theatre  a  paying  concern,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of 
R.  H.  Wyndham.  The  last-named,  a  gentleman 
by  birth  and  education,  came  to  Edinburgh  in 
1845  iri  support  of  Helen  Faucit.  He  had 
previously  managed  the  Adelphi,  until  its 
destruction  in  1853,  when  he  assumed  the 
reins  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  and  under  his  able 
conduct  it  speedily  became  one  of  the  best 
known  houses  in  the  three  kingdoms.  As  an 
actor,  he  was  at  his  best  in  light  comedy. 
Mrs.  Wyndham  played  with  distinction  such 
parts  as  Peg  Woffington,  Mrs.  Haller,  and  Lady 
Macbeth. 

Under  Wyndham*s  regime,  all  the  leading 
members  of  the  profession  appeared,  including 
also  the  Italian  operatic  stars. 

Here  are  some  names  picked  at  random  from 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       149 

a  long  and  interesting  list.  Kean,  Helen  Faucit, 
Paul  Bedford,  Wright,  J.  L.  Toole,  Gustavus 
Brooke,  Madame  Celeste,  Alf  Wigan,  Mrs. 
Stirling,  Sothern,  Mesdames  Ristori,  Titiens, 
Mario,  and  Guiglini. 

The  Government  having  purchased  the  site 
for  £5,000  upon  which  to  erect  the  General  Post 
Office,  after  a  career  of  ninety  years  the  farewell 
performance  was  given,  Lord  N eaves  con- 
tributing the  valedictory  address.  Here  is  the 
programme :  — 

THEATRE  ROYAL,  EDINBURGH. 

Sole  Lessee,  R.  H.  Wyndham.  9-^  Princes  Street. 

Final  Closing  of  the  Theatre 

On  Wednesday,  May  25th,  1859- 

♦         ♦         ♦         ♦         ♦ 

The  performance  will  commence  with  the  celebrated  Comedy 
written  by  Tom  Taylor  and  Charles  Reade  Esqs., 

Entitled 
"MASKS   AND   FACES." 

Sir  Charles  Pomander  by  Mr.  Wyndham. 
Triplet  by  Mr.  Edmund  Glover,  Theatre  Royal,  Glasgow. 
Ernest  Vane  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Lyons.       Colley  Gibber  by  Mr.  Foote. 
Quin  by  Mr.  Ersser  Jones.  Snarl  by  Mr.  Fisher. 


150  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Call  Boy,    Mr.  R.  Saker.  Soaper  by  Mr.  Irving 

Hunsdon  by  Mr.  Vandenhoif.  {Ihnry  Irvin§f). 

Burdock  by  Mr.  Carroll.  Colander  by  Mr.  James. 

PEG  WOFFINGTON  by  MRS.  WYNDHAM. 
Kitty  Clive  by  Miss  M.  Davies.        Mrs.  Triplet  by  Mrs.  E.  Jones. 
Roxalana  bv  Miss  M.  FOOTE.        Maid  by  Miss  Thompson. 
Mabel  Vane  by  Miss  Sophia  Miles, 

AFTER  WHICH  MR.  WYNDHAM   WILL  DELIVER 

A    FAREWELL   ADDRESS. 

To  be  followed  by  a  laughable  Farce, 

"HIS   LAST   LEGS." 

Felix  O'Callaghan,  a  man  of  Genius,  by  Mr.  Wyndham.  Charles 
by  Mr.  Irving  (Hanr//  Irviny).  Mr.  Rivers  by  Mr.  Ernest  Jones. 
Dr.  Banks  by  Mr.  Foote.  John  by  Mr.  R.  Saker,  Thomas  by 
Mr.  Davis.  Mrs.  Montague  by  Miss  Nicol.  Julia  by  Miss  Jones. 
Mrs.  Banks  by  Mrs.  E.  Jones.        Betty  by  Miss  S.  Davis. 

After  which  the  National   Drama  of 

CRAMOND   BRIG. 

JAMES  VI.  KING  OF  SCOTLAND  by  MR.  G.  MELVILLE. 
Jock  Howieson  by  Mr.  Fisher.  Berkie,  of  that  Ilk,  by  Mr.  Rogerson, 
Murdoch  by  Mr.  Wallace.  OflScer  by  Mr.  Bankes.  Grime  by 
Mr.  Douglas.  Tarn  Maxwell  by  Mr.  Davis.  Tibbie  Howieson  by 
Miss  Nicol.  Marion  by  Miss  Davis,  in  which  character  she  will  sing— 
•*A  Kiss  Ahint  the  Door." 

To  conclude  with  a  Moving  and   Removing 
VALEDICTORY  SKETCH 
Mr.  Wyndham  by  Himself.      Mrs.  Wyndham  by  Hersblf, 
Spirit  of  the  Past,  Miss  Nicol.      Spirit  of  the  Future,  Miss  DaTis. 

The  National  Anthem  by  the  Entire  Company. 


THE  EDINBURGH  STAGE.       151 

One  of  the  most  notable  items  in  this 
programme,  to  a  dramatic  student,  is  the 
appearance  of  young  Henry  Irving,  then 
nineteen  years  of  age.  He  had  just  migrated 
from  the  stock  company  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre, 
Sunderland,  and  joined  up  Wyndham's  stock 
company  in  Edinburgh,  where,  during  his 
sojourn,  he  played  the  parts  of  Horatio, 
Banquo,  MacduflF,  Catesby,  Pisanio,  and 
Claudius.  He  also  appeared  in  burlesque  and 
pantomime.  The  local  critics  praised  him  for 
his  '*  gentlemanly  "  air,  his  earnest  ways,  and 
the  care  he  bestowed  on  his  make-up  and  cos- 
tume, and  occasionally  chided  him  for  some  of 
those  mannerisms  which  afterwards  became 
historical. 


152  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  ARBROATH   AND  DUNDEE  STAGE. 

Arbroath  has  always  proved  so  tender-hearted 
a  nurse  to  the  Drama  that,  although  the  busiest 
part  of  its  theatrical  history  took  place  after  the 
founding  of  touring  companies,  it  is  worth 
recording  a  few  of  the  incidents  in  its  early 
career.  For  those  who  desire  fuller  details 
I  can  recommend  no  more  enthusiastic  guide 
than  P.  Charles  Carragher,  whose  F airport 
from  the  Footlights  ( 1 906)  affords  a  dramatic 
epitome  of  its  variegated  story.  To  Sir  Walter 
Scott  in  The  Antiquary  {circa  1750)  we  are 
indebted  for  a  clue  to  Arbroath's  share  in 
theatrical  history.  Speaking  of  his  fellow- 
traveller  to  the  North,  Monkbarns,  he  considers 
the  possibility  of  Lovel  being  a  young  actor  on 
the  way  to  the  opening  of  **  the  little  theatre  at 
Fairport."  As  Scott  gives  some  details  which 
might  well  pass  for  a  description  of  the  new 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    153 

place  of  entertainment  at  Horner's  Wynd, 
it  may  be  assumed  that  the  novelist  had 
sat  as  an  auditor  in  the  old  play-house. 
Prior  to  this  there  is  no  evidence^  beyond  the 
tradition,  of  the  monks  having  played  their 
Morality  and  Miracle-plays  within  the  great 
Abbey,  or  upon  the  Abbey  Green  at  Arbroath. 

Unluckily,  historians,  English  as  well  as 
Scots,  regarded  the  drama  as  the  poor  **  peely- 
waly  "  forbidden  thing,  so  that  even  in  Hay's 
History  of  Arbroath  the  principal  theatrical 
event  we  learn  is  that  King  Lear  was  produced 
for  the  first  time  in  the  town,  at  the  **  New 
Theatre'*  on  21st  May,  1793.  It  looks  then 
as  if  Arbroath  shared  with  Aberdeen  its  honour 
of  first  erecting  a  temple  to  Thespis,  the 
Aberdeen  record  placing  1 7  5  i  as  its  date. 

The  **  New  Theatre,"  Arbroath,  whose  lessee 
was  a  Mr.  Hamilton,  had  been  built  complete 
with  stage  fittings  and  scenery,  and  probably 
was  equipped  on  the  model  of  the  Edinburgh 
Theatre,  erected  twenty-four  years  before. 

As  the  step-bairn  of  the  Arts,  the  Drama 
must  give  way  to  the  sterner  demand  of  com- 
II 


154  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

merce,  and  so,  when  they  wanted  a  stable  at  the 
George  Inn,  the  theatre  site  had  to  be  moved 
across  the  street.  The  tenement,  of  which  this 
theatre  formed  part,  afterwards  became  a 
tobacconist's  shop. 

In  the  second  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  Arbroath  commenced  to  savour  the 
pleasures  of  regular  drama.  Arbroath  was 
favoured  with  long  visits  from  various  stock 
companies :  their  stays  were  necessarily  lengthy 
because  of  the  difficulties  of  transport,  of 
baggage,  scenery,  and  other  impedimenta,  in- 
cluding the  players.  Old  Ryder  included 
Arbroath  in  his  northern  circuit.  Having  pro- 
duced Rob  Roy  at  Perth  on  22nd  June,  18 18, 
Corbett  Ryder,  after  touching  Dundee,  brought 
his  company  to  Arbroath.  The  Diana  of  that 
performance  was  Mrs.  Ryder,  and  Martha  was 
played  by  the  daughter  of  his  scene-painter. 
The  lady  in  question  was  better  known  after- 
wards as  the  wife  of  Macready.  The  Bailie 
was  enacted  by  the  famous  Mackay. 

The  appearance  of  Chippendale  in  The  Rivals 
is    also    recorded    in    18 19.      Pritchard    and 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    155 

Edmund  Glover  were  some  of  the  older  stars 
who  appeared  at  Arbroath,  while  in  later  years 
such  stars  as  Miss  Heath,  Miss  Isabel  Bateman, 
Mrs.  Siddons,  Shell  Barry,  Henry  Talbot, 
Wilson  Barrett,  and  Osmond  Tearle  appear 
among  the  records  of  the  Arbroath  Theatre. 

These  performances  were  held  in  the  old 
Trades  Hall,  which,  built  in  the  year  of 
Waterloo,  ultimately  became  the  successor  to 
the  Arbroath  Theatre. 

Dundee  has  always  had  a  living  interest  in 
drama,  and  it  will  not  be  amiss  if  we  summarise 
some  of  the  leading  events  in  its  theatrical 
history.  Strolling  players  frequently  visited 
there,  but  they  were  stolen  visits,  frowned  uponl 
by  those  in  authority.  Dundee  may  pride  itself 
upon  the  fact  that  it  produced  the  dramatist, 
James  Wedderburn,  who  was  the  son  of  a 
merchant  in  the  West  Kirk  Stile.  Wedderburn 
had  imbibed  the  new  learning,  having  been 
educated  in  France,  and  was  author  of  tragedies 
and  comedies  in  the  vernacular,  the  main  trend 
of  which  was  to  satirise  the  doings  and  teachings 
of  the  clergy.     His  tragedy,  John  the  Baptist, 


156  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

was  played  at  the  West  Port  about  1540,  and 
there  is  a  record  of  his  comedy  entitled 
Dionyslus  the  Tyrant  having  been  performed 
in  the  Playfield,  which  may  be  located  some- 
where near  the  rising  slope  known  as  The 
Witches*  Knowe. 

The  Lawrence  Fletcher  company,  which 
included  among  its  partners  both  William 
Shakespeare  and  Richard  Burbage,  was  sent 
to  Aberdeen  by  the  King  in  1601,  an  incident 
referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  Aberdeen,  and  it 
is  thought  that  probably  this  same  company 
gave  a  performance  in  Dundee  on  its  way  north- 
ward. But  there  exists  no  record,  and  probably 
the  local  historian  of  that  date,  if  he  were  a 
good  citizen,  would  expunge  the  disgraceful 
item  from  his  book.  Later  Dundonians,  of  a 
different  and  broader  calibre,  would  fain  believe 
that  Shakespeare  was  of  this  memorable 
company,  and  try  to  relate  the  subsequent 
production  of  Macbeth  ( 1605)  to  **  the  Bard's  " 
absorption  of  local  colour  on  that  visit. 

The  Scottish  clergy  endeavoured  later  on  to 
blot  out  the  accursed  thing  as  the  enemy  of  all 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    157 

morality  and  religion,  and  they  succeeded  for 
many  years  until  the  Restoration  came  to  set 
the  drama  on  its  way  again,  letting  loose  the 
frank,  virile,  unashamed  stream  of  wine-house 
wit,  bawdy  humour,  and  brilliant  satire. 

Dundee  depended  upon  Edinburgh  for  its 
representations  of  drama.  Edinburgh,  as  the 
religionists  of  the  time  would  say,  set  the  bad 
example,  for,  at  Allan  Ramsay's  instigation, 
Dundee  had  a  company  of  players  visiting  them 
in  1734. 

How  welcome  the  players  were  may  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that  the  townsfolk  made  it 
a  fete  day  I  The  players  secured  the  patronage 
of  the  Freemasons  who,  according  to  the  old 
record,  marched  in  procession  to  the  playhouse 
"  in  their  proper  apparel,  with  hautboys  and 
other  music  playing  before  them." 

The  theatre  was  probably  a  temporary 
erection,  and  the  dramatic  fare  provided  in- 
cluded Jubilee  and  the  famous  farce.  The 
Devil  to  Pay,  or  the  Wives  Metamorphosed. 

Between  this  and  the  next  Dundee  theatrical 
performance  there  is  a  gap  of  twenty-one  years. 


158  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Allan  Ramsay,  the  pioneer  of  Edinburgh  drama, 
had  been  badly  beaten  in  his  attempt  to  keep 
the  theatrical  flag  flying,  and,  as  is  shown  in 
the  story  of  the  Edinburgh  stage,  the  theatrical 
folks  led  a  furtive  life,  the  most  favoured  way 
of  evading  the  law  being  to  produce  a  stage- 
play  under  the  pretence  that  it  was  a  concert  of 
music,  a  ruse  that  the  acting  fraternity  had 
picked  up  from  their  London  brethren,  as 
witness  Giffard's  announcement  of  1 5th 
October,  1740  (Goodman's  Fields  Theatre): 
**  A  Concert  of  Vocal  and  Instrumental  Musick 
in  2  Parts.  Between  the  Parts  of  the  Concert 
will  be  presented  gratis  a  Comedy  called  *  The 
Stratagem  '  by  Persons  for  their  diversion." 

Despite  these  depressing  circumstances,  a 
company  of  players  set  up  a  season  in  the  Town 
House  during  the  months  of  May  and  June, 

'755. 

The  programme  is  presented  as  a  curiosity. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  Comedy  and  the  Farce, 
which  represented  the  major  part  of  the  show, 
were  presented  gratis  and  sandwiched  between 
the  first  and  last  parts  of  the  concert 
programme. 


ARBROATH  6?  DUNDEE  STAGE.    159 

At  the  Town-house  of  Dundee 

On  Monday 

EVENING 

Being  the  26th  of  May,  I7r>5,  will  be  performed 

A   CONCERT   OF   MUSIC. 


After  the  first  part  of  which  will  be  presented  (Gratis) 

A  COMEDY,  called.  The 

Recruiting  Officer. 

Capt.  Plume  by  Mr.  Hey  man, 

Capt.  Brazen  by   Mr.  Keasberry, 

Justice  Ballance  by  Mr.  Wright, 

Sergeant  Kite  by   Mr.  Salmon, 

Worthy  by  Mr.  James, 

Two  Recruits  by  Mr.  Lancashire  and  Mr.  Adams, 

Melinda  by  Mrs.  Hamilton, 

Rose  by  Miss  Welles, 

Lucy  by   Mrs.  Wright, 

And  Sylvia  by  Miss  Hamilton, 

With  a  Farce,  called 

The  Mock  DOCTOR,  or  the  Dumb  LADY  Cured. 

Sir  Jasper  by   Mr.  Hey  man, 

Leander  by  Mr   Keasberry, 

Esqur  Robert  by  Mr.  James, 

James  by  Mr.   Adams, 

Harry  by  Mr.   Lancashire, 

Dr.  Hellebore  by  Mr.  Wright, 

The  Mock   Doctor  by  Mr.  Salmon, 

Dorcas  by   Mrs.  Hamilton, 

Charlotte  by  Miss  Welles. 

The  Doors  to  be  opened  at  Five, and  to  begin  precisely 

at  Six  o'clock. 

Tickets  to  be  had  at  Baillie  Crigh ton's  CofFee-House. 

N.B. — Fore  Seats  2  sh.     The  back  Seats  are  railed  off, 

to  which  people  will  be  admitted  for  1  sh.  each. 


160  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Cynical  readers,  who  complain  of  modern 
British  Bumbledom  in  regard  to  licensing 
restrictions,  will  note  that  the  modern  official 
follows  out  hereditary  instincts — as  also  do  the 
various  managements  who,  during  the  past 
decade,  have  formed  ways  and  means  of 
evading  the  law,  particularly  in  the  Metro- 
politan area. 

Among  the  plays  performed  by  the  company 
were  George  Barnwell^  The  Foundling,  The 
Beggar* s  Opera,  and  Don  Quixot  in  England. 
The  comedian,  Lancashire,  a  great  favourite 
in  Edinburgh,  was  the  draw  of  the  show. 
He  kept  a  public-house  in  Edinburgh,  and, 
as  his  historian  writes,  **  He  drank  and 
joked  with  his  customers:  laughed  and  grew 
fat :  and  at  length  died,  respected  by  many  and 
with  the  good  word  of  all." 

The  next  company  appeared  in  1767  at  the 
Town  Hall — a  **  Company  of  Comedians  from 
Edinburgh  Theatre  Royal,"  and  they  confined 
their  performances  to  Mondays,  Wednesdays, 
and  Fridays. 

One  of  their  announcements  read: — *'  There 
will  be  presented  a  celebrated  and  historical 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    161 

Tragedy  called  Jane  Shore  (written  in 
imitation  of  Shakespeare's  stile,  by  N.  Rowe, 
Esq.),  the  entertainment  to  conclude  by  desire 
with  the  farce,  Lethe,  or  j^sop  in  the  Shades  " 
The  Trades  Hall  harboured  several  com- 
panies, the  first  of  which  played  in  the  large 
room  of  the  building,  and  was  under  the 
management  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bailey,  Edin- 
burgh Theatre  favourites.  Mr.  Frank  Boyd, 
who  wrote  that  liveliest  of  stage  records.  The 
Dundee  Stage,  pictures  to  us  very  succinctly 
the  Dundee  playgoers  of  those  days. 

**  One  likes  to  imagine  seeing  the  in- 
habitants of  those  days,  the  men  roofed  with 
their  perukes,  and  in  their  square-cut  coats, 
plush  breeches,  and  silk  stockings,  and  the 
ladies  in  hoops  and  dresses  stiff  with  em- 
broidery, figuring  as  spectators  in  the  play, 
and  returning  home  in  the  sedan  by  torch- 
light, or  in  stately  procession,  first  coming 
the  maid,  bearing  a  tall  lantern  with  mould 
candle;  behind  marching  the  mistress,  or, 
perchance  two  or  three  ladies,  all  holding  up 
calashes  (resembling  the  canopy  of  a  gig)  to 
guard  their  head  gear.  Maid  and  mistresses 
alike  wore  pattens  that  lifted  them  above 
whatever  pools  or  kennels  lay  in  their  way." 


162  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

In  1784,  the  Edinburgh  Theatre  Company 
announced  a  forthcoming  performance  in 
Dundee,  whereat  the  Town  Council,  greatly 
perturbed,  passed  the  following  resolution,  at 
the  Council  meeting  on  9th  August :  — 

**  The  Council  and  Trades,  being  informed 
that  Mr.  Jackson,  Manager  of  Edinburgh 
Theatre,  and  his  company  intend  to  perform 
plays  in  this  Burgh,  they  are  of  opinion  that 
exhibiting  plays  here  is  not  authorised,  but 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  laws  of  the  country 
and  prejudicial  in  many  respects  to  the 
interests  of  Society." 

Wherefore  the  Council  took  legal  means  to 
prevent  the  performance,  and  Jackson's  com- 
pany were  banned  from  entering  the  Burgh.  A 
pause  of  thirteen  years  had  worn  the  rough 
edges  off  that  prejudice,  for  in  1797  theatrical 
performances  were  given  in  the  town  without 
any  opposition  being  raised. 

The  celebrated  playwright,  Mrs.  Inchbald, 
was  a  member  of  one  company,  for  she  is 
described  at  her  benefit  as  giving  '*  a  dramatic 
entertainment,  interspersed  with  theatrical  and 
provincial  anecdotes,  and  imitations  humourous, 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.  163 

vocal,  and  rhetorical  in  four  parts  called  '  The 
World  as  It  Goes.'  "  Mrs.  Inchbald  also  de- 
livered her  **  New  Embellished  Lecture  on 
Hearts." 

In  Dundee  at  length  the  theatre  idea  had 
evolved  into  a  habit  sufficiently  strong  to 
demand  a  permanent  building.  At  least  Moss 
and  Bell,  the  proprietors  of  the  regular  Dundee 
Theatre,  thought  so,  and  v^ere  courageous 
enough  to  erect  one  at  Yeaman  Shore  in  1800. 
The  edifice,  which  was  *'  fitted  up  in  a  very 
elegant  and  superior  style,'*  was  opened  with  a 
performance  of  The  Merchant  of  Venice,  the 
prologue  being  written  by  **  a  gentleman  of 
Dundee."  Moss  played  Shylock  to  the  entire 
approbation  of  the  audience;  indeed,  his 
performance  was  regarded  as  the  best  of  its 
day.  Moss  was  a  pupil  of  the  then  famous 
Shylock,  Macklin,  and  his  conception  of  the  part 
was  founded  on  that  of  his  illustrious  master, 
whose  creation  had  received  Pope's  im- 
primatur :  — 

**  This  is  the  Jew 
That  Shakespeare  drew." 


164  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Moss  earned  for  himself  a  niche  in  the  gallery 
of  character  creators  of  this  period.  Dublin 
and  Edinburgh  having  acclaimed  his  Shylock, 
his  fame  travelled  to  London,  and  he  was 
engaged  for  the  Haymarket  Theatre. 

Until  1803,  Moss  appeared  periodically  at 
the  Yeaman  Shore  house.  As  far  as  the 
evidence  goes,  the  Dundee  house  was  not  an 
overwhelming  financial  success,  for  two  years 
later  we  find  Moss  acting  as  manager  to  the 
Dumfries  Theatre.  While  performing  at 
Dumfries  Theatre,  the  story  goes  that  a  certain 
youthful  low  comedian  of  the  company  ex- 
claimed "If  ever  I  should  play  Shylock,  it  shall 
be  after  the  style  of  Mr.  Moss."  Nine  years 
afterwards,  that  youth  achieved  his  wish — at 
Drury  Lane — when  his  name  headed  the  bill  as 
that  famous  star,  **  Edmund  Kean." 

A  **  comic  interlude  '*  written  by  *'  a  gentle- 
man of  this  town,"  and  entitled  The  Pretty  Girl 
of  Dundee  was  announced  for  performance  in 
1802. 

Mr.  Beaumont  next  took  up  the  lease  of  the 
Yeaman  Shore  house — his  wife  being  a  favourite 
Scottish  actress — and  the  succeeding  years  show 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.  165 

that  such  famous  players  as  John  Kemble, 
Edmund  Kean,  Henry  Johnston,  Dowton,  and 
others  appeared  for  short  seasons,  the  variety; 
performances  including  Sexti,  a  famous  tight- 
rope dancer,  known  as  the  '*  Little  Devil," 
Belcher  and  Mendoza,  the  prize  fighters,  in 
boxing  exhibitions,  and  various  other  varieties. 
Latterly,  the  house  had  to  close  its  doors,  and 
during  the  thirty  years  that  followed  the 
Yeaman  Shore  Theatre  was  used  as  a  store- 
house. 

Theatrical  performances  were  also  given  in 
Dundee  near  the  top  of  New  Inn  entry,  in  a 
former  place  of  religious  worship,  which,  when 
the  Theatre  Royal  was  built,  "  reverted  to  its 
original  purpose." 

It  dawned  upon  the  stage  folks  that,  if  they 
wanted  to  hold  Dundee  for  the  drama,  they 
would  have  to  present  it  in  a  more  attractive, 
place  than  the  Yeaman  Shore  Theatre  had 
ultimately  proved  to  be. 

Accordingly,  the  new  Theatre  Royal  was 
opened  up  in  Castle  Street  on  June  7,  18 10, 
with   a   miscellaneous   concert   given   for   the 


166  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

benefit  of  the  funds  of  the  Western  Regiment 
of  Forfarshire  Local  Militia. 

The  first  dramatic  performance  was  pre- 
sented on  13th  August,  when  the  Edinburgh 
Theatre  Royal  Company  appeared  in  Cumber- 
land's comedy,  The  West  Indian,  and  the 
farce  of  Fortune's  Frolic,  the  manager  of  the 
new  house  being  Mr.  Henry  Siddons,  the 
patentee  of  the  Edinburgh  Theatre.  Mrs. 
Henry  Siddons,  a  clever  actress  of  that  period, 
appeared  a  fortnight  later  as  Juliana  in  The 
Honeymoon.  The  leading  man  of  the  company 
was  Daniel  Terry,  a  versatile  actor  and  man 
of  parts,  who  enjoyed  the  intimacy  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  friendship. 

Stephen  Kemble  is  noted  as  appearing  on 
September  3rd  as  Falstaff  in  King  Henry  IV. 
Kemble  has  gone  down  the  theatrical  ages 
chiefly  as  the  Falstaff  who  required  no  stuffing. 
This  is  unjust  to  his  memory,  as  he  was  a 
tragedian  of  some  standing. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Murray,  a  capable  actor,  who 
was  about  this  time  one  of  the  members  of 
the  visiting  companies,  had  taken  over  the 
reins  of  management  of  the  Edinburgh  Theatre 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    167 

Royal  after  the  demise  of  Henry  Siddons,  who* 
left  behind  a  heritage  of  debt.  He  opened  the 
Dundee  house  for  several  short  seasons,  but 
relinquished  management  with  the  performance 
announced  for  his  benefit  on  October  4th,  18 16. 
The  programme  included,  besides  a  comedy 
and  farce,  an  entertainment,  including  singing, 
dancing,  etc.,  and  a  grand  naval  and  national 
selection  of  ballads,  called  "  British  Tars,  or. 
Saturday  Night  at  Sea,"  the  last  scene  of 
which  represented  a  grand  panoramic  view  of 
the  city  of  Algiers  with  the  destruction  of  the 
fleet  and  batteries  by  the  Allied  Squadrons. 
The  "  positively  last  night  "  of  the  company, 
came  on  2$th  October. 

A  waxwork  show  followed  the  "  Man  Sala- 
mander" 's  performance,  and  then  a  tenantless 
gap,  when  we  find  an  auctioneer's  notice  an- 
nouncing for  sale  one-fourth  share  of  the 
property,  **  consisting  of  four  excellent  shops 
with  vaulted  roofs  on  the  ground  storey,  and 
two  stores  above  occupied  as  a  Theatre." 

Mr.  Corbett  Ryder's  Aberdeen  company, 
re-opened  the  house  in  August,  1 8 1 8,  with 
'*  the  new  and  justly  celebrated  national  playi 


168  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  Rob  Roy  Macgregor,  or  Auld  Langsyne.** 
Ryder  was  the  original  Rob  and  the  most 
famous  delineator  of  the  part,  while  the  Bailie 
Nicol  Jarvie  was  the  great  Mackay.  Later  on, 
Guy  Mannering  was  produced  with  Mackay 
in  the  cast,  the  Dominie  Sampson  being  played 
by  Terry. 

Mathews,  **  the  celebrated  Irish  comedian," 
appeared  in  January,  1 8 1 9,  in  his  one-man 
entertainment,  which  consisted  of  a  melange  oi 
English,  Irish,  and  Scottish  recitations,  with 
appropriate  original  comic  and  s.erious  songs. 
In  May,  Miss  Duncan,  a  comedienne  of  the 
principal  London  theatres,  appeared  with  Ryley, 
the  author  of  The  Itinerant,  for  a  few  nights, 
while,  in  October,  Matthews  at  Home  and 
Matthews  in  his  Trip  to  Paris  was  presented  by 
Mathews  the  elder.  On  November  3rd,  the 
ineffable  **  Mr.  M*Roy,  late  of  the  Greenock, 
Ayr,  Dumfries,  and  Berwick  -  upon  -  Tweed 
Theatres,"  presented  his  "  brilliant "  {sic) 
company  in  Cherry's  Soldier's  Daughter,  with 
a  son  of  the  author  as  the  principal  char- 
acter, but  although,  according  to  M'Roy,  it 
was,  with  the  exception  of  Edinburgh,   '*  the 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    169 

best  company  in  Scotland,"  the  Dundonians 
were  evidently  not  of  that  opinion,  for  they 
failed  to  turn  up  in  numbers  sufficient  to  make 
it  a  financial  success. 

Corbett  Ryder  again  opened  up  a  season 
early  in  1820,  presenting  Harry  Johnston,  the 
Scottish  Roscius,  and  the  favourite  young 
Norval  of  Home's  Douglas. 

On  July  17th,  the  infant  prodigy  and  lili- 
putian  wonder,  Miss  Clara  Fisher,  who  had 
enacted  the  crook-back  tyrant  at  six  and  a  half 
years  at  Drury  Lane  and  was  now  nine  years 
old,  appeared  in  the  parts  of  Richard  HI., 
Falstaff,  and  Dr.  Pangloss.  Local  critics,  it  is 
said,  went  into  raptures  about  her  performances. 
Evidently  they  believed  in  being  kind  to  the 
bairns. 

Charles  Mayne  Young,  of  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  followed  in  Hamlet,  but  none  of 
these  attractions  managed  to  provide  a  paying 
season. 

Macready  was  announced  for  August  23rd, 
making  his  first  appearance  at  Dundee  in  a  four 
night  engagement,  playing  Virginius,  Macbeth, 

13 


170  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Coriolanus,  and  Sir  Charles  Racket— an  attrac- 
tion which  served  to  close  the  summer  season. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  Ryder's  own  company, 
then  contained  such  embryo  *'  stars  "  as  Tyrone 
Power,  the  most  clever  of  stage  Irishmen, 
Chippendale,  who  had  been  partly  educated  at 
the  Edinburgh  High  School,  and  the  singing 
man,  Paddy  Weekes,  who  soon  after  became 
famous  for  his  delineation  of  Irish  characters. 

After  closing  for  a  few  weeks,  for  re-decora- 
tions and  repairs,  Ryder  advertised  the  revival 
of  Rob  Roy  (its  129th  performance),  in 
which  Mackay  was  again  the  Bailie.  Calvert 
came  from  Edinburgh,  the  tragedian  Calcraft 
appeared  for  a  few  nights,  and  then  came 
the  production  of  King  Henry  VIII.  on  an 
unprecedented  scale  of  splendour.  But  the 
season  was  evidently  a  very  bad  one  for  Ryder, 
for  it  was  not  till  February,  1822,  that  we  find 
another  legitimate  company  occupying  the 
boards,  when  E.  Crook  brought  the  Pantheon 
Company  from  Edinburgh,  among  the  most 
notable  nights  of  their  season  being  the  special 
one-night-only  engagement  of  Dowton,  the 
comedian,  in  Bickerstaffe*s  The  Hypocrite, 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    171 

In  August,  Ryder  had  a  final  shot  for  Dundee 
favours,  bringing  along  an  excellent  company, 
which  failed  to  make  a  prolonged  stay  worth 
while. 

For  several  years  the  theatrical  banner 
ceased  to  fly  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  and  it  was 
not  till  September  of  1824,  if  we  except  several 
scratch  performances  by  M.  Alexandre,  the 
famous  ventriloquist,  that  Ryder  thought  fit  to 
try  his  Dundee  fortunes  again.  On  this  occasion, 
he  announced  the  special  engagements  of  the 
well-known  vocalists  —  Sinclair,  the  original 
Francis  Osbaldistone  and  the  Henry  Bertram 
of  Guy  Mannerlng  (Covent  Garden  pro- 
duction), and  Miss  Halland.  Sinclair  was 
somewhat  irascible,  and,  as  things  failed  to  go 
well  with  him  one  night  in  performing  in  The 
Siege  of  Belgrade,  he  abruptly  stopped,  and 
the  curtain  was  brought  down. 

The  season  had  certainly  opened  badly,  but 
Ryder  struggled  on,  bringing  Paddy  Weekes 
and  Mrs.  Faucit  (mother  of  Helen  Faucit)  to 
Dundee,  but  still  failing  to  draw  the  crowds,  he 
returned  to  Edinburgh  to  open  up  a  season  at 
the  Caledonian  Theatre. 


172  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Bass  was  the  next  tenant  to  try  his  luck  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  opening  up  in  May,  1826,  un- 
fortunately, during  the  Sacramental  Fast  Week. 
Pritchard  was  the  star,  but  the  company's  stay 
was  brief.  In  October,  Bass,  having  taken  up 
the  lease,  gave  a  revival  of  The  Merchant  of 
Venice  and  Rosina.  The  theatre  was  done  up 
afresh,  and  Bass  introduced*  monthly  box 
tickets,  but  that  innovation  did  not  prove  a 
success.  Bass  was  a  capable  actor,  and  his  wife, 
Miss  Munday,  soon  became  popular.  Pritchard 
was  again  put  in  the  bill,  and  the  low  comedian 
Frimbley  became  a  huge  favourite.  Miss  S. 
Booth,  granddaughter  of  the  great  Barton 
Booth  scored  a  notable  success  as  Rosalind,  and 
Corbett  Ryder  was  induced  to  stop  at  Dundee 
and  give  a  revival  of  Rob  Roy  prior  to  his 
Aberdeen  engagement. 

Guy  Mannering  was  played  for  a  short 
run  in  January,  1827,  with  the  popular  Scottish 
vocalist,  Melrose,  as  the  star.  Lara,  a  new 
play  written  by  Bass,  which  was  afterwards 
performed  at  Drury  Lane,  was  "  tried  out  "  at 
Dundee. 

Bass   considered   his   prospects   in   Dundee 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.  173 

good  enough  to  risk  taking  up  the  lease  of  the 
Perth  Theatre.  With  a  return  visit  of  Rob 
Roy,  Pritchard  and  Mackay  being  in  the  cast, 
and  a  visit  from  the  renowned  Knyvett, 
Vaughan,  and  Bellamy  concert  party,  the  Bass 
season  ended  in  February. 

Vandenhoff,  the  elder,  tried  a  five  nights' 
**  stand  "  in  March,  1828,  but  played  to  empty 
houses,  and  even  T.  P.  Cooke,  the  model  ex- 
ponent of  the  British  tar,  who  succeeded  him, 
met  with  little  better  success. 

A  new  notion  for  Dundee  was  tried  when 
they  re-opened  on  28th  October,  Thursdays 
being  advertised  as  fashionable  subscription 
nights.  Rob  Roy  again  came  as  the  initial 
performance,  with  Mackay  as  the  Bailie  and 
Miss  Noel  as  Diana  Vernon. 

The  next  year  (1829)  Bass  took  up  a  five 
years'  lease,  and  re-opened  the  legitimate 
business  on  November  23.  Among  the  features 
of  that  season  were  the  introduction  of  Lloyd, 
**  a  little  conjuror,"  according  to  a  Dundee 
critic,  '*  with  the  blended  powers  of  Liston  and 
William  Murray,'*  and  Vandenhoff  and  Miss 


174  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Jarman,  who  had  played  Dcsdemona  to  the 
Othello  of  Edmund  Kcan. 

The  great  Braham  proved  the  piece  de  resist- 
ance of  the  season,  appearing  in  February  for 
five  nights  in  Guy  Mannering,  The  Slave,  The 
Siege  of  Belgrade,  and  The  Duenna. 

Plucky  as  he  had  been,  Bass  was  compelled 
to  face  the  inevitable  in  1830,  when,  finding 
himself  in  money  troubles,  he  started  to 
economise,  with  the  usual  result.  The  regular 
drama  declined.  One  night  in  November, 
1830,  they  presented  Master  David  Bell,  aged 
thirteen,  a  native  prodigy,  who  seems  to  have 
acquitted  himself  very  creditably  in  the  part  of 
Young  Norval. 

The  proprietors  of  the  theatre  tried  their  luck 
with  a  stock  company  in  the  following  year 
(1831),  when  the  leading  lady  was  Miss 
Estcourt  Wells,  but  the  experiment  proved  a 
failure.  In  the  three  years  that  followed,  the 
Royal  stage  harboured  a  few  miscellaneous 
entertainments,  including  **  Yates*  Reminis- 
cences *'  by  Yates,  the  father  of  the  late  Edmund 
Yates  of  The  World, 

Incidentally,  Paganini  should  have  appeared 


ARBROATH  fir  DUNDEE  STAGE.    175 

at  the  Royal,  but  a  dispute  between  Bass,  the 
lessee,  and  the  proprietors,  had  the  effect  of 
transferring  his  two  evening  concerts  to  another 
place  in  the  town. 

The  next  lessee  of  the  Royal,  Mr.  W. 
Burroughs,  brought  Henry  Johnston,  Eli^a 
Paton,  and  a  good  company  to  the  theatre  on 
December  31st,  and  subsequently  produced  the 
first  regular  pantomime  in  Dundee — all  to  no 
purpose,  the  people  preferred  Ord's  Circus, 
then  performing  in  The  Meadows. 

The  visit  of  Charles  Kean,  supported  by  the 
great  Mackay,  for  three  nights  beginning 
February  17,  1835,  failed  to  draw,  and  the 
theatre  had  to  be  closed  in  March. 

Burroughs  ought  to  go  down  to  history  as  a 
public  benefactor,  for  his  company  included  a 
painstaking  actor  called  Samuel  Phelps,  who* 
was  afterwards  to  become  famous,  and  who 
owed  his  success  in  the  big  parts  of  James  VI. 
and  Sir  Pertinax  MacSycophant  to  the 
command  of  the  Scots  dialect  he  had  acquired 
in  the  Dundee  Theatre.  Two  years  later,  he 
made  his  debut  as  Shylock  at  the  London 
Haymarkct. 


176  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

For  nearly  two  years  Dundee  stage  history 
had  been  a  blank,  when  Thomas  Ryder  opened 
up  a  season  in  November,  1837,  under  the 
direction  of  his  father,  Corbett  Ryder,  when 
they  were  favoured  with  unusually  good 
business.  A  second  season  in  the  September 
of  1838  brought  attractions  like  the  Misses 
Smith,  vocalists,  Paumier,  the  tragedian, 
Madame  Chevallier,  the  ballet  dancer,  and  the 
great  Mackay.  It  is  worth  recording  that  some 
Dundonians  believed  enough  in  the  play  to 
attempt  the  erection  of  a  new  theatre,  but  the 
proposed  issue  of  £5  shares  failed  to  mature. 

Sheridan  Knowles,  supported  by  Miss 
Elphinstone  and  the  Aberdeen  company,  re- 
opened the  Theatre  Royal  for  a  seven-night 
season,  apparently  with  success,  for  Thomas 
Ryder  again  ventured  a  season  in  November 
and  December. 

It  was  at  the  Thistle  Hall  that  Ira  Alridge, 
the  African  Roscius,  elected  to  appear  in  March, 
1840,  in  the  r61e  of  Othello,  without  make-up. 
Aid  ridge,  the  descendant  of  a  West  African 
prince,  was  educated  in  New  York  for  the 
church,  but  as  the  *'  colour  line  "  afifected  his 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.    177 

success  in  America,  he  migrated  to  this  side, 
and  made  a  good  many  successful  British  tours. 
Besides  Othello,  his  favourite  parts  included 
Shylock  and  Macbeth, 

A  rival  to  the  Theatre  Royal  lessee  appeared 
in  the  person  of  Langley,  who  opened  up  the 
Thistle  Hall  as  a  theatre  in  July,  1841. 

A  month  later,  Ryder  brought  his  company, 
along  to  the  Royal,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crisp 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Power  in  leading  parts. 
Then  followed  a  competition  for  audiences  and 
a  division  of  the  already  scant  possibilities 
among  Dundee  theatre-goers.  The  Royal  pre- 
sented CD.  Pitt  and  the  Irish  comedian  Daly, 
when  the  Thistle  was  offering  as  attraction 
that  erratic  genius,  Gustavus  Vaughan  Brooke. 
Brooke's  appearance  was  announced  as  for  six 
nights,  "  previous  to  his  engagement  with  Mr. 
Macready  at  Drury  Lane."  An  accident  in  the 
duel  scene  of  Richard  III.,  at  the  Dundee 
performance,  laid  him  up  for  some  weeks. 

Gourlay,  regarded  as  **  the  best  Bailie  bar 
Mackay,'*  was  engaged  to  appear  at  the  Royal 
as  the  "  Dancing  Scotsman/*  after  which  the 
Thistle  closed  its  doors. 


178  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

The  Royal  followed  suit  a  few  weeks  later  in 
November. 

Langley,  who  had  been  in  Ryder's  company, 
did  not  give  up  Dundee  as  hopeless,  for  the 
Yeaman  Shore  Theatre  having  been  again  re- 
fitted, he  brought  a  stock  company  there  in  the 
spring  of  1842,  with  Mrs.  Greig  (Miss  Maria 
Tyrer)  as  the  leading  lady. 

Among  the  extra  attractions  offered  was 
a  performance  by  Gouffe,  the  famous  man 
nK)nkey,  who  appeared  in  Langley *s  great 
Christmas  spectacle.  Still  misfortune  followed 
Langley*s  footsteps,  and  the  Yeaman  Shore 
Theatre  had  to  be  closed. 

In  March,  1843,  J-  Daly  opened  the  Castle 
Street  house,  and  although  he  brought  an 
exceedingly  strong  stock  company,  including 
Johnston,  Brooke,  Gouffe,  Lloyd,  and  Mrs. 
Leigh,  he  lost  heavily,  and  three  months  later 
we  find  him  figuring  as  the  lessee  of  the  Dum- 
fries Theatre. 

Hope,  evidently,  springs  eternal  mostly  and 
chiefly  in  the  breasts  of  mummers,  for  Langley 
again  turned  up  at  the  Yeaman  She re^ Theatre, 
re-opening  in  the  spring  of  1844,  and  subse- 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.  179 

quently  introducing  Helen  Faucit  to  Dundee 
playgoers-  For  twelve  months  both  Dundee 
theatres  stood  without  a  tenant,  till  Langley 
made  another  trial  in  March,  1845,  ^^^  P<^or 
business  was  his  saddening  experience. 

The  drama  in  Dundee  then  literally  went  to 
the  dogs,  for,  in  November  of  this  year,  we  find 
Henry  Smith  occupying  the  stage  with  his  dogs. 
Bruin  and  Hofer.  This  was  an  echo  of  the  dog- 
drama  craze  in  London,  which  started  at  the 
Royal  Circus  there,  where  a  play  had  been 
expressly  written  to  display  their  talents.  Even 
Drury  Lane  had  its  dog-drama  and  managed 
to  save  Sheridan  from  bankruptcy,  when 
Kemble  and  Siddons  had  failed  to  draw  the 
town. 

On  February  3rd,  1846,  one  of  the  stock 
company,  Ellenden,  took  his  benefit,  the  lessee 
presenting  Ellenden 's  new  drama,  Grizzel 
Jamphray,  the  last  of  the  Witches ;  or.  The  Sea 
Captain  0/  Dundee,  with  a  full  complement  of 
local  scenery. 

A  novelty  in  quintuple  representation  was 
introduced  on  the  23rd  of  June,  when  the  part 
of  Richard  III.  was  sustained  by  five  actors  in 


180  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

succession.  Langley  took  the  first  act,  Coleman 
the  second,  Murray  the  third,  Ellenden  the 
fourth,  and  Tom  Powrie,  then  a  youngster,  the 
fifth  act.  The  farce  was  Do  You  ever  Take 
your  Wile  to  Brought y  Ferry?  evidently  a 
localised  version  of  Did  You  ever  Take  your 
Wife  to  Camberwell  Green? 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pollock  were  afterwards 
engaged,  the  latter  a  favourite  at  the  Old 
Aberdeen  Theatre  Royal,  and  formerly  the  wife 
of  Corbett  Ryder. 

December  saw  the  stage  given  over  to 
Professor  Heller  and  his  troupe  in  "Les  Poses 
Plastiques,"  and  then  came  the  Aldridge  family 
including  Miss  Aldridge,  the  tight-rope  walker. 

This  was  the  last  season  of  the  Yeaman  Shore 
Theatre.  It  is  rendered  notable  by  the  fact  that 
it  presented  to  the  public  two  famous  figures 
in  Scottish  dramatic  history,  Tom  Powrie  and 
Edmund  Glover. 

Powrie  was  born  in  Dundee  on  28  th 
February,  1824,  and  from  his  earliest  days  had 
been  stage  struck,  holding  his  first  perform- 
ances in  a  stable  in  Tay  Street,  where,  with  his 


ARBROATH  &  DUNDEE  STAGE.  181 

own  company  of  juvenile  actors,  he  used  to 
enact  the  stirring  melodrama,  M*Glashan. 

The  starting  price  was  three  pins  a  head; 
when    the    actors    had    acquired    some    real 
properties,  such  as   **  red  paint  **  and  a   real 
sword,    the    price    of    admission    had    to    be 
increased. 

Miss  Helen  Faucit,  supported  by  Mr.  Adam's 
company,  appeared  at  the  Theatre  Royal  as 
Juliet  to  the  Romeo  of  Barry  Sullivan,  on  31st 
May,  1845.  The  Wizard  Professor  Anderson 
gave  a  series  of  entertainments  in  December, 
and  the  theatre  remained  closed  for  many 
months.  As  we  do  not  propose  to  follow  up  its 
theatrical  progress  further,  we  must  take  a 
reluctant  leave  of  Dundee,  with  a  word  of  com- 
mendation to  the  long  line  of  playgoers  who 
have  made  it  possible  to  maintain  therein  the 
stage  traditions. 

Just  one  reference  may  be  permitted  to  a 
minor  house,  evidently  a  wooden  booth  whichj 
was  set  up  in  the  Meadows,  and  rejoiced  in  the 
name  of  the  Royal  Victoria  Theatre.  The  pro- 
prietor and  manager  was  dubbed  *'  Wee  Scott," 
and  he  managed  to  wile  some  of  the  Yeaman 


182  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Shore  company  to  his  establishment.  Ellenden, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  M*Gregor  were  of  the  company^ 
and  the  leading  lady  was  Mrs.  Dunsmore. 
Apparently,  Wee  Scott  was  the  pioneer  of  the 
two-houses-nightly  theatre  principle,  for  this 
was  the  special  feature  of  his  management,  as 
well  as  popular  prices,  which,  in  contemplating 
modern  theatre  changes,  simply  emphasises  thci 
proverb,  **  The  more  a  thing  changes,  the  more 
it  is  the  same.** 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       183 


CHAPTER  VIL 

EARLY   GLASGOW   DRAMA. 

In  approaching  the  subject  of  the  Glasgow 
stage,  it  will  be  well  if  we  recapitulate  some  of 
the  steps  in  its  progress  towards  the  civilising 
influence  of  the  drama.  It  will  equally  serve 
our  purpose  if,  while  quoting  from  the  Burgh 
records,  we  give  some  evidence  of  the  zeal 
exhibited  in  maintaining  its  burghal  dignity. 
Amongst  the  first  of  these  indications  is  an 
extract  from  the  records  of  Glasgow,  which 
shows  that  that  interesting  personage,  the  town 
minstrel,  existed  at  as  early  a  date  as  26th 
February,  1573.  The  item  reads:  "Thomas 
Downy,  paid  for  making  a  drum  to  the  common 
menstralc  to  play  with." 

The  next  entry  refers  to  the  coming  election 
of  town  minstrels:  — 

'*  1st  June,  1574.  The  menstrales  con- 
tinewit  quhill  the  Symmerhill  quhen  the  haill 
conmiunitie  salbe  present  to  give  thair  votes 


184  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

thairanent.  (The  election  took  place  on  20th 
June.)  The  quhilk  daye  Archibald  Bordland 
and  Robert  Duncane  are  admittit  to  be 
menstrales  to  the  towne  for  the  instant  yeir, 
and  to  haif  fra  ilk  freman  allanarlie,  but  meyt 
(both  meat),  twa  schillingis  money  at  the 
laist,  with  the  mair  at  the  gevaris  (giver's) 
pleasour.'* 

Besides  these  public  minstrels,  there  appear 
to  have  been  a  good  many  itinerant  musicians. 
During  the  Pest  in  Glasgow  {circa  1574),  it 
was  forbidden  for  any  pipers,  fiddlers,  minstrels 
or  other  vagabonds  to  remain  in  the  town  except 
by  Provost's  special  license,  under  pain  of 
scourging  and  banishment. 

An  entry  appears  in  the  accounts  for  1579, 
where  an  item  of  ten  shillings  is  passed  **  to  the 
menstrals  for  their  expenses  to  Hamilton.**  In 
addition  to  the  sense  of  dignity  with  which  they 
were  regarded  by  the  Burgh,  its  authorities  also 
held  that  they  should  be  appropriately  clad,  so 
on  the  2nd  June,  1599,  the  Provost,  Bailies, 
and  Council  passed  an  order  to  grant  each  of 
the  eight  officers  and  two  minstrels  *'  sa  meikill 
reid  stamyng  as  wilbe  (will  buy)  ilkane  of 
thame  ane  mantill  with  stringes  in  the  syde  and 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       185 

the  townes  armes  on  the  schoulder  thairoff  in 
the  best  fassone  thai  can  be  hade." 

But  it  is  from  the  Church  that  we  get  the  first 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  player  person. 
The  Kirk  Session  of  Glasgow,  on  24th  April, 
1595,  instructed  the  town's  drummer  to  forbid 
all  persons  '*  from  going  to  Ruglen  to  see 
vainplays  on  Sundays."  As  to  what  these  plays 
were,  and  who  acted  in  them,  history  so  far  is 
silent. 

Returning  to  the  itinerant  entertainers,  they 
had  made  themselves  so  notorious  by  their  utter 
disregard  of  the  law,  that  the  decree  of 
26th  January,  161 1,  had  to  be  passed  for  their 
correction :  — 

**  The  provost,  baillies  and  counsale  upone 
consideration  of  the  grit  abuse  done  to 
women  be  scallis  and  bardis  quha  can  nocht 
be  pwinst  in  thair  gudis  throw  thair  mister 
and  povertie,  for  restraining  and  remeid 
quhairof  it  is  ordainit  that  all  sik  scallis  and 
bardis  quha  heiraftir  hapens  to  abuse  honest 
women  with  thair  blasphemous  langyage,; 
upon  tryell  of  thair  blasphemie  be  pwinst  in' 
prisson  viij  days  and  thaireftir  brankit  upone 
ane  mercat  day  frae  X  houris  to  Xii  houris." 
13 


186  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Whether  it  was  similar  conduct  on  the  part 
of  the  strolling  players  that  led  to  the  Kirk 
Session  taking  notice  of  them  also  by  enactment 
is  left  to  conjecture;  but  their  decree  of  20th 
May,  1624,  intimated  that  **  all  revellers  and 
comedians  would  be  severely  punished." 

That  the  musical  taste,  which  has  been  so 
perfectly  upheld,  was  early  fostered  by  its 
citizens,  may  be  proved  from  an  entry  in  the 
Burgh  Records  under  date  15th  July,  1626:  — 

"  Agreed  that  James  Saunderis  should 
instruct  all  bairnes  in  school  musik  for  ten 
schillingis  ilk  quarter  to  himself  and  fortie 
pennies  to  his  man." 

And  that  the  Council  themselves  patronised 
the  musicians  we  find  in  an  item  paid  by  the 
Treasurer,  Anno  1629:  — 

**  Item.     To  twa  menstrales  quha  did  play 
in  John  Rouats  on  Witsonday  .    .    . 
Lviijs." 

At  a  later  date,  another  form  of  pestilence 
was  prevalent  in  the  Burgh,  and  the  Council's 
decree  (12th  December,  1646,  which  contains 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       187 

an  iinconscious  bull)  ordered  that  ^'  na  man 
transport  thaimselvis  of  the  town  except  women 
and  children  and  thair  be  na  melting  at  lyke- 
wakes  nor  efter  burialls." 

On  20th  July,  1670,  the  Magistrates  inter- 
dicted strolling  players  from  performing  plays, 
such  as  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  in  private 
houses.     A  writer  of  this  date  (Arnot)  says: 

**  The  writings  of  their  most  popular 
divines  represented  the  playhouse  as  the 
actual  temple  of  the  Devil,  where  he  fre- 
quently appeared  clothed  in  a  corporeal 
substance  and  possessed  the  spectators, 
whom  he  held  as  his  worshippers." 

In  their  view,  '*  The  Temple  of  Beelzebub  " 
was  to  be  shunned.  They  assured  the  people 
that  any  place  which  gave  shelter  to  the 
accursed  thing  or  its  exponents  would  be  burnt. 
This  put  a  wholesome  dread  of  consequences 
in  the  minds  of  many  who  were  in  doubt.  Even 
landlords  were  chary  of  affording  play  or 
players  house-room,  whether  as  a  measure  of 
self-protection,  or  from  fear  of  offending  the 
clergy,  is  matter  for  speculation.     Further  than 


188  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

this,  the  good  citizens  were  not  allowed  to  be 
out  of  doors  after  tattoo  time. 

Some  difficulty  seems  to  have  arisen  in  the 
way  of  collecting  the  town  minstrels'  wages. 
To  meet  this,  the  Council  (5th  February,  1676) 
ordained  that  "  ane  bank  be  sent  throw  the 
toune  to  adverteis  theis  who  has  not  payit  their 
zuill  wages  to  the  drummers  that  they  pay  the 
same,  uthirwayes  the  Magistrates  will  cause 
poynd  them  therfor." 

A  record  of  the  Council,  under  date  5th  June, 
1682,  is  interesting,  as  shewing  the  monopoly 
which  the  Fountains  enjoyed  as  Masters  of  the 
Revels :  — 

"  The  said  day  ordains  the  Provost  to  have 
a  warrand  for  240  pounds  Scots  payed  to 
Edward  and  James  Fountain,  masters  of  the 
revells,  for  discharging  the  ventners  in  toune 
of  the  charges  of  horning  given  them,  for 
keiping  games  or  plays  of  quhatsomever 
kynd,  in  their  houssis  and  for  frieing  them, 
of  the  lyke  in  tyme  coming  during  their  gift." 

But,  alas  for  the  aspirations  of  the  **  unco 
guid,"  the  mind  of  the  young  Glaswegian  was 
naturally  wicked  and  inclined  to  run  into  evil 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       189 

paths,  despite  his  knowledge  of  the  dire 
consequences  of  sin.  And  so,  on  the  12th 
September,   1691,  the  Council  state  that: 

**  Considering  whereas  great  and  many 
abuses  in  the  night  tyme  have  been  of  late 
committed  by  several  inhabitants  of  the 
toune,  to  the  great  scandall  of  religion, 
contempt  of  authoritie  and  hurt  to  severall 
persones,  for  preventing  whereof  these  are 
hereby  discharging  and  prohibiting  whatso- 
ever persones  upon  whatsoever  pretext  to 
goe  through  the  toune  in  the  night  tyme 
maskerading,  or  sirenading,  or  in  companie 
with  violls  or  other  instruments  of  musick 
in  any  number.  Certyfying  all  such  who 
shall  commit  any  such  abuses,  shall  be  fyned 
one  hundredth  pounds,  toties  quoties,  and 
punished  in  their  persones,  and  proceeded 
against  by  Church  censure  as  persones 
notoriously  scandalous  and  appoints  a  pro- 
clamation to  be  sent  throw  the  toune  to 
intimat  the  same." 

The  citizens  still  retained  their  musical  interest, 
for,  on  24th  September  of  this  year,  Mr.  Lewis 
de  France  was  licensed  by  the  Council  to  teach 
music  to  the  inhabitants  at  14s.  per  month,  for 


190  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

one  hour  per  day,  and  was  also  entitled  to  14s. 
for  writing  the  thirteen  common  tunes  and  a 
few  psalms,  the  scholars  furnishing  the 
necessary  books.  The  poor  were  to  be  taught 
free,  and  for  this  office  De  France  received 
£100  Scots  from  the  Burgh. 

Neither  was  Glasgow  unmindful  of  the  social 
graces.     On  the  iith  November,  1699, 

*'  The  quhilk  day  the  Magistrats  and 
Toune  Council  convened  They,  upon  a 
supplicatione,  given  in  be  John  Smith, 
dancing  master  allow  and  permitt  the  said 
John  to  teach  dancing  within  this  burgh  and 
under  the  provisions  and  conditions  under- 
written, viz:  — 

•*  That  he  shall  behave  himself  soberly, 
teach  at  seasonable  hours,  keep  no  balls, 
and  that  he  shall  so  order  his  teaching  that 
there  shall  be  noe  promiscuous  danceing  of 
young  men  and  women  togither  (The 
giddiness  of  it! ),  bot  that  each  sex  shall  be 
taught  by  themselves,  and  be  out  of  the 
house  before  the  other  enter  therein.  And 
if  the  said  John  transgress  in  any  of  these, 
appoynts  the  Magistrats  to  putt  him  out  of 
this  burgh.'* 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       191 

In  the  month  of  August,  1728,  part  of  Tony 
Aston's  company  of  comedians  migrated  from 
Edinburgh  to  Glasgow,  and  received  permission 
from  Bailie  Murdoch  to  perform  in  the  Weigh 
House,  The  Beggar's  Opera.  A  good  audience 
was  there  to  meet  them  on  the  opening  night, 
but  the  attendance  on  the  following  evening  was 
very  poor.  The  clergy  brought  the  matter 
before  the  Magistrates,  blaming  them  for  this 
innovation,  but  they  were  informed  that  the 
ministers  should  have  warned  them  beforehand. 
This  omission  was  repaired  afterwards,  judging 
by  an  extract  from  a  private  letter  of  that  date : 

'*  Sabbath  after  the  ministers  preached 
against  going  to  those  interludes  and  plays, 
Mr.  Robertson  of  Kilsyth  went  through  all 
that  was  agoing  about  meeting  houses,  plays, 
errors  and  profaneness,  and  spared  none,  I 
hear." 

Previous  to  1750,  the  entertainment  of  the 
Burgh  had  been  entirely  provided  by  bands  of 
strolling  players,  acrobats,  tumblers,  singers, 
and  dancers.  Burrell's  Close,  a  passage 
leading  out  eastward  from  Duke  Street,  had  a 
public  hall  which  formed  their  abiding  place. 


192  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Its  proprietor,  Daniel  Burrell,  had  been  invited 
by  the  civic  authorities  to  teach  dancing-.  His 
fees  were  25s.  for  a  seven  month  session,  5s. 
for  ^  ball,  and  is.  for  each  lesson.  To  this 
was  added  an  annual  Corporation  salary  of  £20 
in  the  shape  of  a  guarantee.  But,  even  with 
this,  he  found  it  difficult  to  make  a  decent  living 
at  his  profession.  So  he  decided  to  let  his  Hall 
to  the  variety  shows,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  programme  of  the  earliest  which  appeared 
there.  It  is  taken  from  The  Glasgow  C  our  ant, 
30th  September,  1 7  5  i . 

**  Being  positively  the  last  night  of  our 
performance  in  this  City.  For  the  benefit 
of  Mr.  Dominique.  At  Mr.  Burrell's  Hall 
above  the  Cross,  this  present  Monday,  will 
be  performed  a  Concert  of  variety  and 
Instrumental  Music.  Boxes  and  Pit  2s. 
Gallery  is.  Between  the  two  parts  of  the 
Concert  will  be  given  (gratis)  Rope  Dancing 
and  Tumbling.  Particularly  Mr.  Gorman 
will  jump  over  the  garter  forward  and  back- 
ward on  the  stiff  rope,  such  as  was  never 
done  in  this  city  before.  Likewise,  Walking 
on  the  Small  Slack  Wire,  by  the  famous 
Russian   Boy.      Dancing   both   serious   and 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       193 

comic,  by  Mons.  and  Madam  Granier.  Like- 
wise, a  new  Humorous  Dance  called  The 
Soldier  and  the  Sailor,  the  Tinker  and  the 
Taylor,  and  Buxome  Joan  of  Deptford.  To 
the  great  surprise  of  the  spectators,  Mr. 
Dominique  will  fly  over  the  Double  Fountain. 
To  conclude  with  a  Pantomime  Entertain- 
ment called  Harlequin  Captive,  or  the 
Dutchman  Bitt.  The  Doors  to  be  opened 
at  five,  and  to  begin  exactly  at  six." 

The  first  theatre  was  erected  in  1752,  and 
consisted  of  a  wooden  booth,  which  stood 
against  an  old  wall  of  the  Bishop's  Palace,  in 
an  area  called  the  Castle  Yard.  To  this  home 
of  the  drama  came  many  patrons,  who  were 
carried  there  in  sedans,  under  a  strong  guard 
to  protect  them  from  the  fanatics.  This  unruly 
mob  gathered  round  the  theatre  to  threaten 
those  who  dared  enter  "  the  Devil's  Home,"  not 
only  with  the  judgment  of  Heaven,  but  with  what 
was  worse,  summary  and  immediate  violence. 
The  members  of  the  company  included  Messrs. 
Love,  West  Digges,  and  Mrs.  Ward,  old 
Edinburgh  favourites. 

Upon  this  interesting  scene  entered  the  great 


194  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

dissenter,  George  Whitfield.  Standing  in  the 
graveyard  of  the  Cathedral,  he  invoked  the 
wrath  of  God  upon  the  play-house.  It  was  not 
long  before  his  prayer  was  answered.  Full  of 
the  righteousness  of  his  reasoning,  and  the 
spirit  of  destruction,  a  mob  of  religious  fanatics 
rushed  forthwith  to  the  theatre,  and  the  fervour 
of  their  righteous  mood  did  not  pass  away  until 
the  place  was  totally  destroyed.  It  was  not  till 
twelve  years  had  passed  that  another  house  was 
raised.  Five  Glasgow  gentlemen  had  been  to 
Edinburgh,  seeing  the  beautiful  Mrs.  Bellamy 
in  Romeo  and  Juliet.  Enchanted  with  her 
performance,  they  obtained  an  introduction, 
and,  having  gained  an  audience,  they  took  every 
means  to  induce  her  to  visit  their  native  city, 
promising  to  build  a  theatre  for  her.  John 
Jackson,  the  Edinburgh  manager,  accompanied 
by  two  brother  managers.  Love  and  Beatt,  and 
acting  in  conjunction  with  the  five  afore- 
mentioned gentlemen,  set  out  for  Glasgow  to 
crave  the  Council's  permission  to  erect  a  theatre 
in  the  city.  The  names  of  the  five  guarantors 
were  W.  M'Dowall,  of  Castle  Semple;  Wm. 
Bogle,  Hamilton  Farm;  John  Baird,  Craigton; 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       195 

Robert  Rogle,  Shettleston;  and  James  Garn- 
kirk,  all  members  of  the  best  social  clubs. 
The  chief  difficulty  was  that  of  obtaining  a  site, 
for  no  one  would  provide  ground  for  such  an 
ungodly  purpose.  John  Miller,  maltman,  of 
Westerton,  was  advertising  steadings  to  form 
a  new^  street  from  Argyle  Street  to  Candleriggs 
Loan.  Frustrated  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  any 
more  suitable  spot,  they  purchased  ground  from 
him  in  Grahamstown,  beyond  the  Burgh  bounds, 
and  occupying  a  spot  where  Hope  Street  joins 
Argyle  Street.  The  committee  complained  that 
the  price  wanted  (5s.  per  square  yard)  was 
exorbitant  and  extraordinary.  To  this  Miller's 
inexorable  reply  was,  "  Aye,  but  yell  see,  as  it 
is  intended  for  a  temple  of  Belial,  I'll  expect 
an  exorbitant  and  extraordinary  sum  for  the 
purpose." 

In  the  spring  of  1764,  it  was  announced  that 
the  new  theatre  would  shortly  be  opened  by 
Beatt  and  Love.  The  date  was  then  fixed,  and 
it  was  arranged  that  Mrs.  Bellamy  would  make 
her  first  appearance  therein.  On  the  previous 
evening  the  Revivalists  were  busy.  In  an  open 
space  at  Anderston,  a  Methodist  preacher  was 


196  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

addressing  the  crowd.  The  enormity  of  the 
offence  made  him  eloquent.  Pointing  towards 
Alston  Street,  he  continued:  '*  I  dreamed  last 
night  I  was  in  Hell,  where  a  banquet  was  being 
held.  All  the  devils  in  the  pit  were  there,  when 
Lucifer,  their  chief,  gave  them  a  toast :  *  Here 
is  to  the  health  of  John  Miller  of  Westerton, 
who  has  sold  his  ground  to  build  Me  a  Mouse 
on.'  "  The  spark  had  caught  fire:  the  incentive 
was  given.  The  temple  of  Beelzebub  must  be 
razed.  With  the  speed  of  fanatic  wrath,  the, 
theatre  was  quickly  reached,  a  light  applied  to 
the  edifice,  and  before  many  hours  had  elapsed 
the  zealots  had  succeeded  in  destroying  the 
stage  properties  and  costumes,  as  well  as  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  building.  Mrs. 
Bellamy  arrived  next  morning  to  find  the 
managers  in  despair.  But  she  was  not  so  easily 
daunted.  She  sent  for  Beatt  and  told  him  to 
announce  at  the  Exchange  and  the  Cross  that 
"  Mrs.  Bellamy  would  appear  and  act  at  the 
theatre  to-night."  Rehearsals  were  called  at 
the  Black  Bull  Inn,  where  she  lodged. 
Arrangements  were  made  for  repairing  the 
theatre  and  setting  it  in  order  for  the  same 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       197 

night.  Her  indomitable  pluck  inspired  the 
public  in  her  favour.  Offers  of  money  were 
made  by  the  city  merchants,  and  the  wardrobes 
of  the  ladies  were  placed  at  her  disposal. 
Dressing  at  the  Black  Bull  Inn,  she  was  con- 
veyed to  the  theatre  in  a  sedan  chair,  appearing 
that  night  in  The  Citizen,  followed  by  the 
farce  The  Mock  Doctor,  with  Reddish  as  lead, 
and  Aitken,  comedian.  A  goodly  and  enthusi- 
astic company  welcomed  her,  and  remained 
seated  till  they  saw  her  safely  out  of  the  theatre, 
the  Town  Guard  being  under  orders  to  escort 
her  back  to  the  city.  The  quality  of  her  re- 
ception may  be  gathered  from  her  own  remarks 
in  a  letter  to  a  friend:  — 

''  The  beauty  of  the  place  and  of  the 
country  around  it  are  extremely  captivating. 
...  It  reminds  every  one,  who  has  ever  seen 
the  beautiful  village,  of  Haarlem." 

Amongst  the  parts  she  played  during  this 
engagement  was  that  of  Lady  Macbeth,  for 
which  she  had  to  borrow  a  white  satin  dress, 
her  own  costume  having  been  burned  by  the 
religious  mob. 


198  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

**  As  I  had  no  black  vestment  of  any  kind 
sent  to  me  amongst  the  numerous  ones  of 
different  colours,  I  made  that  an  objection 
to  playing  Lady  Macbeth,  upon  which  I  was 
assured  by  one  of  the  inhabitants  that  her 
ladyship's  ghost  walked  every  night  at  the 
Castle  of  Dunsinane  dressed  in  white  satin." 

Beatt  and  Love  kept  the  theatre  for  four 
years,  after  which  Williams  became  a  tenant 
in  1768  and  continued  for  three  seasons  with 
stock  companies.  Digges,  coming  from  Edin- 
burgh, gave  it  a  season's  trial,  then  relinquished 
the  management  in  favour  of  Ross,  who  suc- 
ceeded him  in  1773.  Ross  had  won  his  spurs 
at  Covent  Garden  some  twenty  years  before  as 
a  light  comedian,  but  the  ravages  of  time  (he 
was  65)  and  a  marked  tendency  to  embonpoint, 
did  not  help  to  make  him  a  very  acceptable 
actor.  It  was  he  who  had  been  willed  by  his 
father  the  sum  **  of  one  shilling  to  be  paid 
Mr.  Ross  by  his  sister,  to  thereby  put  him  in 
mind  of  the  misfortune  he  (the  son)  had  to  be 
born."  This  did  not  quite  satisfy  Ross,  who, 
upon  taking  the  matter  into  Court,  was  awarded 
£6,000  as  his  share  of  the  legacy. 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       199 

We  now  come  to  the  Dunlop  Street  house. 
Colin  Dunlop,  the  Provost  of  Glasgow,  had 
acquired  St.  Enoch's  Croft,  a  pretty  site  facing 
the  Clyde.  A  charming  pleasure  ground  ran 
down  to  the  Green,  and  the  croft  extended  from 
about  the  present  Morison's  Court  westw^ard 
nearly  to  that  ground  upon  which  Maxwell 
Street  stands.  Maxwell  Street  was  then  the 
happy  hunting  ground  of  the  bon  ton.  John 
Jackson  offered  to  purchase  the  ground  for  a 
theatre  site,  and  obtained  the  Provost's  consent. 
This  brought  down  the  wrath  of  the  clergymen 
upon  Mr.  Dunlop's  head,  and  they  took 
measures  to  prevent  its  erection.  Those  who 
resided  in  St.  Enoch's  Court  adduced  a  clause 
in  their  feu,  "  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to 
erect  any  tanwork  candle  work  or  manufactory 
upon  any  part  of  the  grounds  which  may  be, 
deemed  a  nuisance  by  the  Magistrates  of 
Glasgow."  On  this  clause  they  set  to  work. 
Jackson  had  so  far  progressed  that  his  arrange- 
ments were  completed  for  laying  the  foundation 
stone  on  Saturday,  17th  February,  1781.  As 
he  stood  there  with  trowel  in  hand,  a  notice 
was  handed  to  him,  which  read:   "  Dr.  Gillies 


200  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

and  Mr.  Porteous  offer  their  compliments  to 
Mr.  Jackson  and  think  it  their  duty  candidly 
to  inform  him,  before  he  proceeds  further  in 
the  work,  they  intend  to  join  with  other  pro- 
prietors in  Dimlop  Street  to  prevent "  its 
erection,  and  so  forth.  To  which  Jackson  (who 
was  both  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman,  his  father 
having  been  a  clergyman,  and  he  himself 
having  been  a  divinity  student)  replied  at  great 
length,  acting  upon  his  lawyer's  advice.  He 
contended  that  the  theatre  was  not  a  manu- 
factory, and  therefore  could  not  be  a  nuisance, 
that  a  church  or  a  ball-room  might  with  equal 
propriety  be  regarded  as  such,  and  that  in  no 
way  would  the  building  spoil  the  view  of  any 
of  the  landowners.  The  result  was  the  with- 
drawal of  the  opposition,  and  that  the  property 
in  the  neighbourhood  immediately  rose  in  value, 
a  fact  of  which  his  opponents  were  amongst  the 
first  to  take  advantage.  This  may  claim  to 
have  been  really  the  first  Glasgow  play-house, 
the  former  being  situated  in  Grahamstown, 
beyond  the  city  boundary.  Dunlop  Street 
Theatre  cost  £3,000  to  erect,  and  held,  at 
Edinburgh  prices,  £90  to  £100.     In  length  it 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       201 

was  90  feet,  and  breadth  40  feet.  The  pit-door 
opened  in  the  centre  of  the  west  gable,  and  the 
fa9ade  was  completed  by  a  piazza  supported  by 
Doric  columns.  It  was  opened  in  January  of 
1782,  and  was  worked  for  fifteen  years  by  the 
Edinburgh  stock  company.  It  happened  that, 
on  1 2th  March,  1782,  there  came  one  of  those 
familiar  floods,  in  which  the  Clyde,  assuming 
larger  proportions  than  had  ever  been  known 
before,  rose  some  twenty  feet,  sweeping  away 
many  homes.  By  devoting  the  proceeds  of  a 
night's  performance  to  the  benefit  of  the 
sufi"erers,  Jackson  at  once  turned  the  popular 
tide  in  his  favour.  People  began  to  recognise 
that,  although  a  *'  son  of  Belial,"  there  was 
something  akin  to  true  religion  about  the 
player. 

Mrs.  Siddons  made  her  first  appearance  at 
the  Dunlop  Street  Theatre  in  1795.  She 
was  then  at  the  zenith  of  her  fame. 
Three  years  before,  she  had  taken  the 
London  playgoers  by  storm  with  her  Lady 
Macbeth.  By  one  of  those  strange  anomalies, 
which  seem  native  to  most  types  of  genius, 
she  had  married  an  extremely  opposite 
14 


202  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

creature.  Of  an  unpoetic  and  egotistical 
disposition,  he  used  to  boast,  "  I  can  either  play 
Hamlet  or  Harlequin."  '*  Sarah's  pathos,"  said 
Mr.  Siddons  at  a  private  party,  "  always  makes 
me  laugh.  Small  beer,  I  think,  is  good  for 
crying.  The  day  that  my  wife  drinks  small 
beer,  she  cries  amazingly.  If  1  was  to  give 
her  porter,  she  wouldn't  be  worth  a  farthing." 
On  the  principle  of  exchange,  we  may  as  well 
retail  an  anecdote  regarding  Mr.  Siddons. 
"  I  forbade  you,"  said  old  Roger  Kemble,  when 
he  heard  of  Sarah's  marriage,  "  to  marry  an 
actor.  You  will  not  have  disobeyed  me  when 
you  marry  Siddons.  He  is  not,  he  was  not, 
he  never  will  be  an  actor." 

For  over  five  years,  Jackson  managed  the 
Dunlop  Street  house,  bringing  to  it,  amongst 
others,  Henderson  (Garrick's  rival),  Mrs. 
Jordan,  Lee  Lewis,  Pope,  King,  and  John 
Kemble.  The  stock  company  was  one  of  the 
best  that  had  been  there,  and  included  Stephen 
Kemble,  Henry  Siddons,  and  Mrs.  Duncan. 

Sheridan's  School  for  Scandal  was  produced 
on  31st  July,  1790,  Mr.  King  appearing  in  his 
original  part  as  Sir  Peter,  and  Miss  Farren  as 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       203 


Lady  Teazle.  On  nth  August,  Much  Ado 
About  Nothing  was  played  with  the  following 
cast:  — 


Benedick, 

Claudio, 

Dogberry, 

Hero, 

Beatrice, 


King. 
Wood. 
Wilson. 
Mrs.  Wood. 
Miss  Farren, 


Stephen  Kemble,  Young,  Rock,  Toms,  Turpin, 
Lamlash,  Grant,  Duncan,  Henry  Siddons,  Mrs. 
Kemble,  and  Mrs.  Duncan,  and  the  Misses 
Walstern,  Kemble,  and  Duncan.  **  Glasgow,'* 
wrote  Mr.  Strang  in  1856,  "has  never  had  a 
company  to  equal  that  one." 

But  Jackson  had  too  many  irons  in  the  fire 
for  financial  comfort.  Owner  of  the  Glasgow, 
Edinburgh,  Aberdeen,  and  Dundee  houses,  the 
efforts  he  put  forth  in  combined  management 
finally  brought  him  into  a  state  of  bankruptcy. 
His  successor,  that  reputed  chief  of  the 
declamatory  school  of  acting,  Stephen  Kemble, 
took  up  the  reins  at  Dunlop  Street,  and 
continued  there  till  1 799,  when  Jackson,  having 
secured  the  support  of  Mr.  Francis  Aitken  of 


204  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

London,  one  of  his  aristocratic  acquaintances, 
they  purchased  the  Theatre  Royal,  and  once 
again  Shakespearean  plays  came  into  vogue, 
accompanied  by  the  production  of  all  the 
principal  plays  of  the  period,  Jane  Shore, 
Douglas,  Venice  Preserved,  and  the  Sheridan, 
Coleman,  and  Goldsmith  comedies.  There, 
too,  might  Jack  Bannister,  "  Handsome  Jack," 
be  found,  the  best  of  light  comedians,  to  whom 
even  ElHston  "  took  off  his  hat." 

To  this  came,  in  1804,  Master  West  Betty, 
the  infant  Roscius.  The  son  of  Belfast  gentle- 
folk, endowed  with  a  handsome  appearance  and 
a  remarkably  quick  memory,  he  speedily  made 
his  way  to  the  front  rank.  He  had  taken 
Dublin  by  storm,  and  his  fame  had  reached  the 
Metropolis.  There  he  was  offered  £50  a  night, 
when  the  best  Co  vent  Garden  and  Drury  Lane 
men  were  content  with  £16  a  week.  Before 
this,  his  provincial  salary  had  been  at  the  rate 
of  £100  a  night.  For  fourteen  performances 
at  Liverpool  he  cleared  £1,520.  Painters 
sought  the  honour  of  his  portraiture;  poli- 
ticians, such  as  Fox  and  Pitt,  sought  his 
company,    and    the    latter    once    moved    an 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       205 

adjournment  to  see  him  act.  The  University 
of  Cambridge  made  him  the  recipient  of  a 
medal.  Crowds  attended  his  performances 
nightly,  soldiers  guarding  the  entrances  and 
approaches.  Appearing  at  Covent  Garden 
Theatre,  the  opposition  house,  Drury  Lane,  with 
a  weak  programme,  took  over  £300  from  the 
overflow.  His  young  Norval  was  loudly 
praised,  and  one  local  critic  who  had  dared  to 
raise  a  dissentient  voice  was  compelled  to  leave 
the  city.  Macready  describes  him  as  a  miracle 
of  beauty,  grace,  and  genius.  On  the  contrary, 
Mrs.  Inchbald  thought  his  tone  too  preachy. 
"  He  is  a  clever  little  boy,  and  had  1  never 
seen  boys  act  before,  I  might  have  thought  him 
exquisite."  For  one  part,  his  education  was 
somewhat  incomplete,  and  his  pronunciation 
was  notable  for  its  elision  of  the  aspirate.  To, 
the  tuition  of  Houghton,  an  old  Irish  prompter, 
he  owed  almost  everything,  Houghton  having 
taught  him  all  his  most  successful  parts,  a  fact 
which  could  easily  be  confirmed  by  the  stereo- 
typed nature  of  every  tone  and  gesture.  It  is 
only  just  to  say  that  he  was  a  very  modest  boy, 
and    did    not    suffer    in    the    least    from    the 


206  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

American  trouble,  "  swelled  head."  And  that 
he  was  not  altogether  ungrateful  is  testified  by 
the  fact  of  his  settling  an  annuity  upon  old 
Houghton,  his  erstwhile  tutor.  Thomas 
Campbell,  the  poet,  describes  this  juvenile  star 
somewhat  curtly: — "The  popularity  of  this 
baby-faced  boy  was  an  hallucination  in  the 
public  mind  and  a  disgrace  to  our  theatrical 
history.  Critics  may  disagree.  One  thing  is 
certain  that,  whether  Master  Betty  was  a 
transcendent  genius  or  not,  his  father  and 
mother  were  wise  in  removing  the  boy,  as  a  boy, 
from  the  profession  in  which  he  would  possibly 
have  failed  as  a  man." 

After  about  two  years'  starring,  he  left  the 
stage,  and  enrolled  himself  as  a  student  at 
Cambridge  University.  Upon  completion  of  his 
studies,  he  returned  to  the  scene  of  his  former 
triumphs,  only  to  find  the  same  fate  which  has 
befallen  so  many  other  prodigies.  The  public, 
too,  had  forgotten  him.  Lacking  the  pro- 
gressive brilliance  of  youth,  it  was  an  act  of 
wisdom  on  his  part  to  withdraw  from  a  pro- 
fession which,  at  the  most,  must  have  developed 
into   a   precarious   living.      Retiring   into   the 


EARLY  GLASGOW  DRAMA.       207 

country,  he  lived  the  quiet  life  of  a  gentleman, 
and  died  at  Cheltenham  in  1876,  aged  83. 

Meanwhile,  Dunlop  Street  was  moving  on  the 
downward  grade.  Jackson  began  to  practise 
various  economies,  and  the  Glasgow  theatrical 
journals  complained  of  the  scanty  company  and 
the  doubling  of  many  of  the  parts.  To  quote 
the  Register  of  that  date :  — 

**  The  theatre  closed  this  evening  a  three 
weeks'  very  unsuccessful  campaign.  We 
think  the  managers  need  not  ascribe  their 
want  of  success  to  the  badness  of  the  times, 
but  to  their  own  bad  management." 

As  an  instance  of  this,  the  final  play  was  The> 
Merchant  of  Venice,  in  which  the  Senate  was 
represented  by  four  miserable  looking,  dirty, 
reddish  figures  wrapped  in  faded  gowns. 


208  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE   GLASGOW   STAGE. 

The  Dunlop  Street  Theatre  had  now  been  in 
existence  for  twenty- two  years.  During  that 
period,  the  city  had  changed  its  aspect.  The 
ragged  lanes  and  wasted  patches  were  now  the 
sites  of  villas  and  pleasure  grounds.  St.  Enoch 
Croft  had  grown  into  a  beautiful  park,  and 
Queen  Street  had  become  the  fashionable  centre 
of  residence,  handsome  villas  lining  the  street. 
Glasgow,  with  that  taste  for  art  which  has  made 
it  so  justly  famous,  felt  that  the  time  had 
arrived  for  the  erection  of  some  edifice  worthy 
to  represent  the  city's  interest  in  dramatic  art. 
From  the  commercial  point  of  view,  it  was 
deemed  a  feasible  scheme  to  build  a  new 
tlieatre,  and  accordingly,  in  1804,  at  the 
extreme  westward  end  of  the  city,  in  Queen 
Street,  operations  were  commenced.  The 
position    occupied   was    close    to    the    present 


,   o 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  209 

Royal  Exchange,  the  western  boundary  of  the 
theatre  running  nearly  in  line  with  the  North 
Court,  off  Exchange  Square.  The  committee 
of  merchants  included  the  names  of  Laurence 
Craigie,  John  Hamilton,  Dugald  Bannatyne, 
William  Penny,  and  Robert  Dennistoun.  At 
the  top  of  Queen  Street  West,  was  an  unsightly 
spot  ot  earth,  on  which  stood  a  decayed  farm- 
house. This  building  was  purchased  from  the 
Magistrates,  as  also  a  piece  of  ground  stretching 
northwards  towards  St.  Vincent  Place.  The 
entire  cost  was  estimated  at  £18,500,  and 
subscription  shares  were  sold  at  £25  each.  In 
twelve  months'  time  the  building  was  completed, 
and  for  its  description  we  may  be  pardoned  the 
use  of  Mr.  Baynham's  account  in  his  admirable 
epitome  of  The  Glasgow  Stage, 

**  The  front  was  composed  of  an  arcade 
basement,  supporting  six  Ionic  columns,  30 
feet  in  height,  with  corresponding  pilasters, 
entablatures  and  appropriate  devices.  The 
principal  vestibule  led  to  the  boxes  by  a 
double  flight  of  stairs,  and  was  separated 
from  the  corridors  by  a  screen  interspersed 
with  Corinthian  columns.     The  proscenium 


210  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

was  thirty  feet  wide  and  decorated  with 
antique  ornaments,  and  the  stage  balconies 
were  tastefully  executed." 

Seating  1,500  people,  the  house  was  supposed 
to  hold  £260,  the  yearly  rental  being  fixed  at 
£1,200.  Upon  its  boards,  in  due  course, 
appeared  some  of  the  greatest  stars  of  the 
day — the  Kembles,  the  erratic  Cooke,  Kean, 
Macready,  Munden,  Mathews  the  elder,  Mrs. 
Siddons,  Miss  Farren,  handsome  Jack  Bannis- 
ter, Mrs.  Jordan,  Dowton,  Fawcett,  Elliston, 
Braham,  Liston,  Miss  Stephens,  Charles  Mayne 
Young,  Sinclair,  Miss  Tree,  Catalini,  Emery 
(grandfather  of  Miss  Winifred  Emery),  and 
Mrs.  Glover. 

In  speaking  of  the  Queen  Street  Theatre, 
any  history  would  be  incomplete  that  did  not 
mention  the  Black  Bull  tavern,  so  famous  for 
its  rendezvous.  The  tavern  stood  in  Argyle 
Street,  at  the  corner  of  Virginia  Street,  on  the 
site  of  Mann  Byars  &  Co's  warehouse.  It 
remained  there  up  till  1858,  after  an  existence 
of  eighty  years,  and  during  that  time  it  had 
been  the  discussion  club  for  city  politics,  city 
improvements,     hunting,     theology,     and     the 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  211 

drama.  It  was  the  home  of  all  clubs  of  repute, 
and  under  its  roof  foregathered  the  leading 
lights  of  the  political,  commercial,  sporting, 
and  dramatic  world,  in  the  old  days  when 
men  drank  hard  and  were  less  respectable, 
but  more  reputable.  Here,  too,  Jackson 
and  Aitken,  the  old  managers  of  the  Dunlop 
Street  house,  must  have  negotiated  their 
application  for  the  management  of  the  new 
theatre.  And  successfully,  as  it  proved,  for  the 
theatre  was  let  to  them  provisionally,  upon  their 
promising  to  secure  the  very  best  histriones  for 
the  new  house.  That  famous  comedy.  The 
Honeymoon,  the  swan  song  of  the  unfortunate 
Tobin,  was  the  opening  play.  After  passing 
through  all  the  drudgery  of  **  the  unaccepted," 
tired  out  with  waiting,  and  sick  at  heart,  he  had 
gone  on  a  voyage  for  health.  In  his  absence, 
his  brother  had  been  successful  in  placing  it 
on  a  London  stage,  where  it  became  the  talk 
of  the  town.  But,  alas  for  the  vanity  of  human 
wishes,  when  the  news  was  carried  to  the  ship 
as  she  arrived  at  a  West  Indian  port,  the  un- 
fortunate Tobin  was  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
human  agency.     The  play  produced  an  equally 


212 


THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


successful  impression  in  Glasgow.  The 
opening  bill  read:  — 

"  The  Public  is  respectfully  informed  that  the 

New  Theatre  will  be  opened  on  Wednesday, 

April  24,   1805. 

A  New  Occasional  Address. 

After  which  the  new  and  favourite  Comedy  now  acting 

in  London  with  universal  applause  called : — 

*THE  honeymoon; 

with  entire  new  dresses,  Scenery  and  Decorations ; 
and  the  Farce  of 

'  Raising  the  Wind  ! ' 

Tickets  to  be  had  of  Mrs.  Wright,  grocer,  Argyle  Street, 
and  of  Mr.  McGregor  at  the  Box  Office  of  the  Theatre, 
where  places  for  the  Boxes  may  be  taken." 

The  cast  was  that  of  the  Edinburgh  stock 
company :  — 


The  Duke  Aranza,  . . . 
Roland,        


Mr.  Eyre. 
Mr.  Evatt. 


Count  of  Mountalban,    Mr.  Howerden. 


Lampedo, 

Jacques, 

Balthazar, 

Zamora, 

Volante, 

Juliana, 


Mr.  Berry. 
Mr.  Turpin. 
Mr.  HolHngsworth. 
Mrs.  Turpin. 
Mrs.  Young. 
Mrs.  Eyre. 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  213 

There  were  only  four  performances  given  per 
week — on  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  Fridays,  and 
Saturdays. 

The  first  star  to  perform  here  was  Miss 
Duncan  (Mrs.  Davidson),  the  original  Juliana 
of  The  Honeymoon,  who  appeared  on  June  24th 
as  Lady  Teazle.  Shortly  after  this,  Harry 
Johnston  occupied  its  boards.  Previously,  he 
had  filled  a  short  engagement  with  Jackson  at 
the  Dunlop  Street  house.  Born  at  Lanark,  and 
reared  in  London,  he  made  his  first  appearance 
as  an  actor  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  His  first; 
big  success  was  made  at  Edinburgh  in  Home's 
Douglas,  in  which  he  appeared  as  young  Norval. 
Just  at  that  time  the  revolution  in  stage  cos- 
tumes had  commenced,  and  Johnston  chose  the 
occasion  to  dress  somewhat  differently  from  his 
predecessors  in  the  part.  Formerly  it  had  been 
played  in  trews  and  Scots  jacket.  Johnston 
donned  full  Highland  costume — kilt,  breast- 
plate, shield,  claymore,  and  bonnet,  and,  on  his 
first  appearance,  was  greeted  with  thunderous 
plaudits.  The  Edinburgh  public  considered 
him  the  best  Scotsman  they  had  ever  seen  on 
the  stage.    His  style  was  largely  moulded  upon 


214  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

that  of  G.  F.  Cooke,  of  whom  he  was  not 
entirely  unreminiscent. 

Aitken,  having  now  seceded  from  the 
management,  Jackson  entered  into  partnership 
with  an  actor  named  Rock,  only  to  find  his 
invariable  fate  pursue  him.  Within  twelve 
months  of  his  taking  over  the  management  of 
the  theatre,  the  end  of  all  came,  and  poor 
Jackson,  ruined  in  health  and  wealth,  went  over 
to  the  great  majority. 

It  was  not  till  June  of  1807  that  the  first  real 
star  came  to  Queen  Street  Theatre,  when 
George  Frederick  Cooke,  **  the  greatest  living 
actor  of  the  day,"  was  billed  to  appear. 
Opening  in  Richard  III.,  he  appeared  as  Pere- 
grine in  John  Bull,  Petruchio  in  Taming  of  the 
Shrew,  and  Sir  Pertinax  MacSycophant  in  The 
Man  of  the  World.  Intense  excitement  pre- 
vailed during  his  visit.  His  reputation  was 
unique:  he  was  one  of  the  greatest  drinkers 
of  his  day.  He  had  reached  the  age  of  forty- 
five  before  he  took  London  by  storm  as  a 
Shakespearean  actor,  and  that  in  the  character 
of  Richard  III.  This  took  place  at  Covent 
Garden,  where  the  directors  gave  him  a  free 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  215 

benefit,  the  profits  of  which  amounted  to  over 
£  5 60.     Macready  writes  of  him :  — 

'*  My  remembrance  of  George  Frederick 
Cooke,  whose  pecuKarities  added  so  much  to 
the  effect  of  his  performance,  served  to 
detract  from  my  confidence  in  assuming  the 
crook-back  tyrant.  Cooke's  varieties  of  tone 
seemed  Hmited  to  a  loud  harsh  Croak  des- 
cending to  the  lowest  audible  murmur:  but 
there  was  such  significance  in  each  inflection^ 
look,  and  gesture,  and  such  impressive 
earnestness  in  his  whole  bearing,  that  he 
compelled  your  attention  and  interest.  He 
was  the  Richard  of  the  day,  and  in  Shylock, 
lago.  Sir  Arch.  MacSarcasm,  and  Sir 
Pertinax  MacSycophant,  he  defied  com- 
petition. His  popularity  far  exceeded  that 
of  Kemble." 

Cooke*s  drinking  habits  often  led  him  into 
amusing  contretemps  with  his  audience.  Upon 
one  occasion,  when  he  was  being  constantly 
interrupted  by  a  young  officer  in  the  stage  box, 
Cooke,  stopping  the  play  for  a  moment,  went 
close   up   to   him,    and   addressed    him    thus: 

*'  D you,  sir.      Sir,   the  King  (God  bless 

him)  can  make  any  fool  an  officer;   but  it  is 


216  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

only  the  great  God  Almighty  that  can  make 
an  actor." 

Once  in  a  public  house  he  quarrelled  with  a 
soldier.  '*  Come  out/'  roared  Cooke,  "  and  I'll 
fight  you."  "  You're  a  gentleman,"  pleaded  the 
soldier;  "you've  money,  and  everybody  will 
take  your  side."  "  Look  ye  here,"  cried  Cooke, 
turning  out  his  pockets,  **  here's  £300,  all  1 
have  in  the  world — there,"  and  staggering 
towards  the  hearth,  he  threw  the  bank  notes 
into  the  fire.  "  Now,  I'm  as  poor  as  you:  come 
out  and  fight,  you  villain." 

Time  after  time  the  public  would  read  the 
announcement  that  Mr.  Cooke  could  not  appear 
in  consequence  of  **  a  sudden  serious  indis- 
position." Upon  his  appearance  after  these 
intimations,  he  would  be  greeted  with  cheers, 
groans,  laughter,  and  cries  of  "Apology." 
Stepping  forward  with  a  solemn  stride  and  a 
mournful  look,  he  would  bow  very  low,  and, 
with  hand  upon  his  heart,  make  the  invariable 
speech,  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  had  an 
attack  of  my  old  complaint."  The  appeal  never 
failed  to  set  his  audience  into  a  good  humour 
again.     He  died  in  New  York.     At  his  final 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         217 

perfoiinance  there,  his  memory  having  failed 
him  in  the  Fair  Penitent,  he  was  forced  to 
withdraw.  When  he  came  off  the  stage,  he  said, 
**  I  knew  how  it  would  be.  This  comes  of 
playing  when  I  am  sober." 

In  1 8 1 4,  the  management  of  the  Queen  Street 
house  came  into  the  hands  of  the  ever-popular 
Harry  Johnston,  who  had  now  become 
notorious  as  the  man  who  thrashed  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  The  incident  is  worthy  of  mention. 
The  future  George  the  Fourth  had  presumed 
to  force  his  way  into  Mrs.  Johnston's  dressing- 
room  at  Drury  Lane.  Johnston  followed  him 
quietly,  and  administered  a  sound  horse 
whipping.  He  was  placed  in  custody,  but 
managed  to  escape;  then,  disguised  as  an  old 
soldier,  he  left  London  on  foot  for  Newcastle. 
Later,  having  failed  as  a  director  of  the  Dublin 
Theatre  Royal,  he  came  over  to  the  Queen 
Street  Theatre,  which  he  managed  for  a  year. 
In  his  later  days  he  was  compelled,  through 
persistent  bad  luck,  to  live  upon  the  kindness 
of  his  brother  actors,  till  he  died  at  Lambeth. 
Twelve  months  after  the  Drury  Lane  escapade, 
his  wife  figured  in  the  Divorce  Court,  the 
>5 


218  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

co-respondent  being  the  celebrated  orator  and 
Deputy  Master  of  the  Rolls,  Richard  Curran. 

On  the  20th  March,  1815,  Edmund  Kean 
made  his  first  appearance  here  under  John- 
ston's regime.  The  scene  was  a  memorable 
one.  All  the  boxes  were  taken  a  week  before, 
and  temporary  ones  had  to  be  erected  on  the 
stage.  The  professors  from  the  University  and 
all  the  lltteratl  of  Edinburgh,  including  Francis 
Jeffrey,  were  present,  and  a  phenomenal  crowd, 
which  completely  barred  all  passage  through, 
Queen  Street,  had  been  waiting  for  hours  before 
the  time  of  admission.  Upon  his  second  visits 
in  April,  his  repertoire  included  Richard  III., 
Othello,  Sir  Giles  Overeach,  Romeo,  Pen- 
ruddock  {Wheel  of  Fortune) ^  and  Zanga  in 
The  Revenge. 

But  his  visit  in  1820  was  not  attended  with 
the  same  friendly  auspices.  Having  figured  in 
an  action  for  divorce,  as  co-respondent,  the 
plaintiff.  Alderman  Cox,  secured  damages 
against  Kean.  To  do  Kean  every  justice,  it 
was  alleged  that  the  affair  had  been  pre- 
arranged to  extort  heavy  damages  from  the 
actor.      The    press    had    been    unanimous    in 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         219 

denunciation,  and  the  public,  taking  up  the  cry, 

hissed    him    whenever    he    appeared.      While 

resting    at    Bute    Cottage,    Rothesay,    he    was 

offered  an  engagement  at  Queen  Street,  and 

opened  up  there  for  a  six  nights'  appearance 

with  Richard,  when  a  house  crowded  with  men 

and  boys  greeted  him,  no  women  being  present. 

Not  a  word  of  the  play  was  heard,  the  piece 

being  acted  in  dumb  show.     The  performance 

of  Othello  met  with  as  Httle  success,  and  Brutus 

fared  little  better.     Wednesday  being  his  last 

night,  he,  in  response  to  the  cheering,  made  a 

speech :  **  Ladies  and  gentlemen.    When  I  used 

to  visit  this  city,  it  was  always  a  rich  harvest 

to  me,  but  this  time,  there  has  been  a  great 

falling  off.      That,   I   suppose,   is  owing  to  a 

certain  event  wliich  has  already  cost  me  £999 

more  than  it  was  worth.    I  am  going  to  America 

(cries  of  **  No!    No  I")  to  perform  again.     If 

I  ever  return  to  this  country  I  shall  certainly 

« 
pay  you  a  visit,  for  old  kindness  I  never  forget. 

For  the  present  I  bid  you  a  respectful  farewell." 

When  he  returned  in  September,  he  was  well 

received,  although  no  ladies  were  present  in  the 

audience. 


220  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

His  next  engagement,  in  1827,  was  memor- 
able to  Kean,  for  the  news  that  his  son  Charles 
would  make  his  deb^it  at  Drury  Lane  on  ist 
October.  Previously  he  had  said,  "If  Charles 
tries  to  be  an  actor,  I  will  cut  his  throat.  I  will 
be  the  first  and  last  actor  of  the  name."  He 
was  playing  Reuben  Glenroy  in  Town  and 
Country  when  he  heard  the  news,  and  he  was 
unable  to  finish  his  part.  However,  the  tender 
heart  of  the  parent  came  out,  for  he  sent  Lee 
up  to  London  to  see  "  how  the  boy  got  on," 
and  received  the  gratifying  message  that 
Charles  had  been  fairly  successful. 

It  was  in  1828  that  the  new  star,  Charles 
Kean,  came  to  Glasgow,  but  he  did  not 
meet  with  an  altogether  gratifying  reception. 
Coming  to  personal  matters,  Charles  did  not 
approve  of  his  father's  selection  of  a  disreput- 
able companion,  who  was  living  with  Kean  at 
Bute.  Meantime,  the  manager,  in  his  desire 
for  good  business,  hit  upon  a  plan  to  draw  the 
crowd.  He  persuaded  the  elder  Kean  to  accept 
a  one  night's  engagement,  studiously  avoiding 
to  tell  him  that  it  was  for  his  son's  benefit,  or 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE,         221 

that  they  were  playing  together.  Lee  tells  the 
story :  — 

**  Kean  got  into  a  terrible  passion  upon 
making  the  discovery,  and  wanted  to  leave 
the  house;  but  he  was  urged  not  to  show 
spite  against  his  own  son,  and  persuaded  to 
go  on.  The  tragedy  was  Brutus,  Kean  play- 
ing the  title  r61e,  and  his  son,  Titus,  when 
the  Theatre  Royal  held  the  largest  audience 
it  had  ever  seen.  In  the  wings  and  on  the 
stage  itself  there  were  250  persons.  Only 
when  the  father  was  passing  out  on  his  way 
home  did  he  speak.  *  I  hope  to  see  you, 
Charles,  at  Bute  to-morrow.  There  will  be 
a  crust  of  bread  and  cheese  for  you  there.' 
To  which  Charles  politely  replied,  *  Thank 
you,  Father,'  but  never  went,  going  to  Belfast 
instead." 

Five  years  afterwards,  they  met  on  the  boards 
of  Covent  Garden,  Kean  appearing  as  Othello 
to  Charles'  lago.  The  elder  made  some 
friendly  advances,  and  everything  went  well  till 
the  third  act,  when  he  came  to  the  celebrated 
speech,  "  Villain,"  at  which  words  Kean's  voice 
broke  down,  and,  falling  upon  his  son's 
shoulder,  he  whispered,  *'  Get  me  off,  Charles, 


222  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

I'm  dying.  Speak  for  me."  He  died  two 
months  afterwards  at  Richmond,  13th  May, 
1833.  Springing  out  of  bed,  with  the  old  fire 
upon  him,  he  cried,  "  A  horse,  a  horse,  my 
kingdom  for  a  horse !  "  and  his  last  words  were 
taken  from  the  dying  speech  of  Octavia  in  The 

Foundling  of  the  Forest.     "  Farewell,  Flo 

Floranthe." 

The  next  big  engagement  was  that  of 
Miss  O'Neil  (21st  August,  18 18)  in  Venice 
Preserved,  in  which  she  appeared  as  Belvidera . 
For  this  attraction  the  prices  were  raised,  which 
caused  a  somewhat  tumultuous  audience  to  hiss 
Johnston,  but  in  the  end  their  better  nature 
prevailed. 

A  novelty  was  announced  for  i8th  Septem- 
ber,  1818:  — 

"  Grand  Crystal  Lustre  of  the  front  Roof 
of  the  Theatre,  the  largest  of  any  of  this  time 
in  Scotland,  will  in  place  of  the  Wicks 
and  the  Candles  and  the  Oil  Lamps  be 
Illuminated  with  Sparkling  Gas." 

A  phenomenal  audience  greeted  this  innovation, 
the  house  presenting  a  brilliant  appearance  with 
the  elite  and  generality  of  the  city  arranged 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         223 

in  its  best  finery.  The  band  struck  up  the 
National  Anthem,  the  audience  joined  in  the 
chorus,  when,  as  if  by  magic  the  gas  was  turned 
on,  "  leaving  some  of  them  to  fancy  that  they 
had  been  ushered  into  a  new  world — a  perfect 
Elysium  on  earth." 

The  programme  on  this  occasion  consisted 
of  Mozart's  Don  Giovanni^  with  John  Corri 
conducting,  and  a  company  of  Italian  artistes. 

Although  the  fact  is  not  generally  known, 
Rob  Roy  was  produced  in  Glasgow  nine  months 
previous  to  its  Edinburgh  performance.  This 
was  for  the  benefit  of  W.  H.  Murray,  of  the 
latter  city,  on  June  loth,  i8 18.  Murray  played 
the  Bailie  to  the  Rob  of  Yates  (the  father  of  the 
late  Edmund  Yates) .  The  event  remained  un- 
noticed by  the  local  press,  although  the  play 
enjoyed  a  run  of  four  nights. 

In  1 8 1 7,  Sheridan  Knowles  came  to  Glasgow 
with  his  father,  and  taught  elocution  at  his 
classrooms  in  Reid's  Court,  off  the  Trongate. 
John  Tait,  the  theatrical  printer  and  bill  in- 
spector, two  years  later  introduced  him  to 
Macready.  Knowles  was  never  a  thrifty  man, 
and,  though  he  was  getting  two  guineas  per 


224  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

session  from  his  pupUs,  he  was  always  in 
strained  circumstances.  Scenting  a  possible 
means  of  raising  the  wind,  he  got  Tait  to 
despatch  his  MS.  of  Virginias  to  Macready. 
The  idea  was  a  successful  one.  Macready, 
accepted  it  and  paid  him  £400  for  a  twenty 
nights'  run.  Twelve  years  afterwards  found 
Knowles  still  as  impecunious.  Then  he  wrote 
The  Hunchback,  sent  it  off  to  the  same  manager, 
and  it  was  at  once  accepted.  In  rehearsing  it, 
Farren  was  stricken  down  with  paralysis.  Kean 
was  too  old  to  act,  and  Macready  himself  de- 
clined the  part.  In  despair,  they  sent  for 
Knowles,  who  played  the  part  of  Master  Walter, 
and  the  piece  became  the  hit  of  the  season. 
But  Knowles  was  never  fully  appreciated  by 
the  Glasgow  public.  When,  at  the  end  of  one 
season,  he  starred  with  Miss  Ellen  Tree,  and 
the  curtain  rose  on  his  William  Tell,  there 
were  only  fifty  people  in  the  auditorium.  A 
Glasgow  critic  wrote  of  him:  — 

*'  He  is  an  actor  though  not  of  the  very 
highest  class.  He  could  not  for  a  moment 
measure  spears  with  Kean,  but  with  most 
other  living  performers  he  need  not  fear 
comparison." 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         225 

James  Aitken  (the  father  of  Miss  M.  A. 
-Aitken)  made  his  debiit  as  Macbeth  on  13th 
February,  1820.  He  was  the  son  of  a  York 
Street  upholsterer,  and  had  been  a  divinity 
student,  having  in  the  course  of  his  studies  taken 
elocution  lessons  under  Sheridan  Knowles. 
Amongst  those  who  were  present  at  his  first 
appearance  were  Dr.  Chalmers  and  Edward 
Irving.  Macbeth  proved  a  big  success,  being 
repeated  nine  times  during  the  following  three 
weeks.  The  part  in  which  Aitken  was  best  re- 
inembered  was  Wanderin'  Steenie  in  the  drama 
of  The  Rose  of  Ettrick  Vale.  Through  all  the 
vicissitudes  native  to  this  profession,  he 
gradually  sunk  into  the  part  of  walking  gentle- 
man at  Covent  Garden.  Then  he  quarelled  with 
John  Kemble,  and  returned  to  Glasgow  to  teach 
elocution.  Combining  this  with  frequent 
appearances  as  a  public  reciter,  he  finally 
passed  away  in  obscurity.  He  died  at  Paisley 
on  19th  September,  1845,  having  contracted  a 
severe  chill  after  a  public  engagement. 

A  powerful  rival  to  the  Queen  Street 
managers  rose  up  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Kinloch, 
who   took  a   theatre  in   Dunlop   Street,   then 


226  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

christened  the  Caledonian  (1823),  where  he 
produced  the  hit  of  those  days,  a  play  founded 
on  Pierce  Egan's  Tom  and  Jerry,  making  a 
clear  profit  on  his  season's  work  of  £2,000. 

The  year  1825  brought  the  eccentric  J.  H. 
Alexander  before  the  Glasgow  public.  Having 
had  a  somewhat  varied  career  as  tragedian,  low 
comedian,  character  actor,  and  heavy  gent,  he 
went  into  management  at  Carlisle,  and  in  1822 
he  took  the  minor  theatre  hitherto  managed  by 
Kinloch.  In  1825,  hearing  the  Caledonian 
Theatre  was  in  the  market,  he  resolved  to  secure 
it.  Seymour,  the  stage  manager  at  Queen 
Street,  managed  to  forestall  him,  and  obtained 
possession.  When  Alexander  arrived,  he  dis- 
covered he  was  too  late,  but  it  was  not  long 
before  he  had  completed  his  plan  of  campaign. 
The  building  was  not  wholly  occupied.  Under- 
neath was  a  cellar  tenanted  by  a  cotton  dealer 
and  potato  merchant.  Settling  terms  with  this 
man  of  business,  Alexander  took  up  his  abode 
therein.  Seymour  opened  the  Caledonian  up- 
stairs with  Macbeth.  Meantime  Alexander 
christened  his  cellar  "  The  Dominion  of  Fancy," 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         227 

and  opened  up  the  same  night  with  The  Battle 
of  Inch.     In  the  words  of  Mr.  Baynham:  — 

**  Macbeth  was  acted  nearly  throughout  to 
the  tuneful  accompaniment  of  the  shouts  of 
the  soldiery,  the  clanging  of  dish  covers,  the 
clashing  of  swords,  the  banging  of  drums, 
with  the  fumes  of  blue  fire  every  now  and 
then  rising  thro'  the  chinks  of  the  planks 
from  the  stage  below  to  the  stage  above. 
The  audience  laughed,  and  this  stimulated 
the  wrath  of  the  combative  managers.  Any 
new  sensation  will  draw  an  audience,  and  the 
fact  of  getting  extraordinary  effects  un- 
rehearsed, and  certainly  never  seen  before, 
drew  large  audiences." 

The  rivals  besought  magisterial  aid  to  save 
themselves  from  each  other,  with  the  result  that 
Seymour  was  allowed  to  open  four  nights  a 
week,  and  Alexander  two  nights,  Saturday  and 
Monday,  the  best  of  the  whole  week.  An  appeal 
to  the  Court  of  Session  only  brought  a  con- 
firmation of  the  Magistrates'  decision.  Then 
the  struggle  for  supremacy  took  place.  When 
"  The  Dominion  of  Fancy "  opened,  its  per- 
formance was  subordinated  to  the  noise  of  a 


228  THE  SCOTS  STAGE 

brass  band  playing  upstairs  in  Seymour's  house. 
Following  upon  this  came  another  appeal,  and 
the  instructions  that  **  Neither  party  was  to 
annoy  the  other,  and,  on  any  more  complaints 
being  brought,  both  places  would  be  ordered 
to  be  closed.*' 

Seymour's  people  next  lifted  the  planking 
and  poured  water  on  the  audience  below.  The 
climax  was  reached  at  the  production  of  Der 
Freischutz,  wliich  was  staged  by  both  houses. 
Seymour's  party  mustered  in  strong  force  and 
took  full  advantage  of  the  gaps  in  the  planks 
to  spoil  the  performance  below.  In  the 
incantation  scene,  the  dragon  could  not  spit  out 
his  fiery  fumes,  and  he  was  held  by  the  tail  tiU 
his  fire  had  burned  out.  The  skeleton-hunters 
were  disturbed  in  their  wild  career :  the  curtain 
could  not  fall,  and  the  cast  had  to  be  told  to 
come  off  the  stage.  The  magic  circle  was 
broken ;  Zaniel  and  his  skeleton  horseman  had 
to  walk  off  with  the  rest.  To  complete  the 
devastation,  the  curtain  came  down  with  a  crash, 
and  the  accompanying  volumes  of  dust  nearly 
suffocated  the  spectators.  So  ended  this  tale 
of  rivalry.     But  it  was  not  a  failure,  by  any 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         229 

means.  The  public  deserted  the  Queen  Street 
Theatre  and  came  to  see  the  fun.  Tom  and 
Jerry  ran  for  a  month,  being  played  at  both 
houses  simultaneously  during  one  of  the  weeks. 
And  after  such  events  who  shall  say  that  the 
Scots  lack  any  sense  of  humour ! 

The  late  proprietor  of  the  Theatre  Royal, 
Queen  Street,  having  disappeared  with  the  keys 
of  that  house,  leaving  behind  a  bill  for  six 
months'  rent,  the  entry  of  Mr.  Frank  Seymour 
could  not  by  any  manner  of  euphemism  be 
called  an  impressive  one.  This  gentleman  was 
compelled  to  go  through  the  green-room 
window  to  open  the  door  of  the  theatre. 

Opening  with  Liston  in  Kennedy's  comedy, 
Sweethearts  and  Wives  and  the  farce,  X.  Y.  Z., 
the  engagement  proved  so  successful  that  he 
determined  to  renovate  the  place.  During  the 
progress  of  these  repairs,  the  company  played 
at  the  old  quarters  in  Dunlop  Street.  When 
the  re-decoration  was  completed,  he  opened 
with  a  strong  bill  consisting  of  that  hardy 
perennial,  Rob  Roy.  One  of  his  most  success- 
ful shows  was  the  production  of  Aladdin,  on 
loth  May,  1826,  for  which  the  attractions  were 


230  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

eighteen  new  scenes,  a  military  band,  fifty 
supernumaries,  magic  properties,  and  a  flying 
palace  built  on  a  platform  thirty  feet  long  by 
eight  feet  broad,  one  of  the  biggest  hits  of  the 
Glasgow  stage.  Another  notable  engagement 
was  that  of  Andrew  Ducrow,  who  brought  a 
double  company  of  a  hundred  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, a  stud  of  forty  horses,  pack  of  hounds, 
and  a  stage  for  the  equestrian  spectacle,  "  A 
Stag  Hunt."  The  house  was  burned  down  on 
loth  January,  1829.  The  proprietor's  losses 
were  largely  covered  by  insurance,  but  a  suin 
of  £2,000  was  lost  through  destruction  of  music, 
books,  papers,  etc.  A  ball  was  given  at  the 
Assembly  Rooms,  Ingram  Street,  at  which 
£1,000  was  realised  for  the  benefit  of  Seymour. 
On  2nd  October,  1829,  Seymour  opened  a 
new  house  in  York  Street,  for  which  he  claimed 
the  patent  of  the  Theatre  Royal.  His  opening 
star  was  Edmund  Kean,  in  the  part  of  Shylock  ; 
Braham,  Rae,  Macready,  and  a  host  of  others 
following  in  succession.  The  experiment  was 
a  failure,  "however,  the  York  Street  house 
remaining  open  only  during  a  period  of  eighteen 
months. 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  231 

Meantime  J.  H.  Alexander  had  returned  to 
Dunlop  Street,  and,  after  having  made  vast 
alterations  in  that  house,  opened  his  season  with 
Dimond's  Royal  Oak,  or  the  Days  of  Charles 
the  Second,  himself  playing  the  part  of  the 
King.  It  was  during  this  season  that  he  again 
came  into  rivalry  with  his  old  opponent, 
Seymour,  at  the  York  Street  Theatre.  It  was 
Alexander  that  scored  this  time.  He  managed 
to  secure  the  stars,  such  as  VandenhoflF,  Miss 
Jarman,  T.  P.  Cooke  with  his  nautical  dramas, 
Liston  in  Paul  Pry,  Mackay  in  the  favourite 
parts  of  his  repertoire.  Bride  of  Lammermoor, 
Gllderoy,  Cramond  Brig,  Guy  Mannering,  and 
in  his  memorable  Bailie  Nicol  Jarvie.  Harry 
Johnston,  F.  H.  Lloyd,  and  the  Siamese  twins 
appeared  at  Dunlop  Street  during  the  same 
year.  Kean  played  in  Othello  and  several  other 
plays.  Concerning  the  last  named,  Mr.  G.  W. 
Baynham  tells  a  rather  interesting  story:  — 

**  The  lago  to  his  Othello  was  an  old  actor 
called  Willie  Johnstone.  Johnstone  was 
very  rheumatic.  Kean  was  also  weak  in  the 
legs.  In  the  business  of  the  third  act  both 
actors  knelt  in  front  of  the  stage,  and  neither 


232  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  them  found  it  possible  to  get  up  again. 
On  lago  saying  to  his  general,  *  Do  not  rise 

yet,'  Kean  was  heard  to  mutter,  *  D d  if 

I  think  I  ever  shall  rise  again.'  Both  gentle- 
men remained,  unable  to  move,  until  Kean 
managed  to  raise  himself  by  clinging  to  his 
ancient  friend,  in  which  endeavour  both 
nearly  rolled  over  together,  the  gallery 
boys  meantime  applauding  vociferously,  and 
shouting,  *  Try  it  again,  Willie,  try  the  other 
leg.  Now  faut  haun's  and  knees.'  At  last, 
Mr.  Alexander,  who  was  playing  Roderigo, 
taking  pity  on  poor  Willie,  came  on  the  stage 
and  placed  him  safely  on  his  feet,  amid  a 
cry  from  the  gods  of  '  Houp-la,'  and  a  round 
of  applause  for  his  humanity." 

When  one  has  noted  in  1836  the  appearance 
of  G.  V.  Brooke  (then  a  humble  member  of  the 
stock  company),  the  visit  of  Charles  Mathew 
the  younger,  and  the  advent  of  a  formidable 
rival  in  the  person  of  Ducrow,  who,  emboldened 
with  the  success  of  his  London  show  (Astley's 
old  circus),  opened  an  arena  in  Hope  Street, 
ifntiTthe  year  1 842,  iK)thing  of  unusual  promin- 
ence occurred. 

In   February  of  that   year,   Mr.   and   Mrs. 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         233 

Charles  Kean  commenced  a  fortnight's  engage- 
jtnent.  Kean  was  somewhat  undersized,  his 
head  was  large,  his  legs  rather  thin,  and  his 
voice  had  an  unfortunate  huskiness  of  tone.  In 
addition  to  this,  he  experienced  some  difficulty 
with  the  consonant  M,  which  he  sounded  like 
B,  and  N  like  D.  As  an  example  of  this,  one 
of  his  opening  sentences  became,  "  Bost  postedt 
g — r — rave  and  r — r — everend  seidaors."  But 
the  grace  of  his  gestures,  and  the  effects  he 
obtained  by  the  use  of  his  brilliant  dark  eyes, 
quite  overcame  these  defects,  and  conquered  the 
hearts  of  his  audiences.  It  is  of  him  the  familiar 
story  is  told:  — 

*'  In  Richard  the  Third  his  best  point  was, 
'  Off  with  his  head,  so  much  for  Buckingham.' 
On  one  occasion  he  was  disappointed  in  its 
delivery.  In  the  scene  where  the  capture  of 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham  is  announced,  the 
messenger  should  say,  '  My  lord,  they  have 
captured  Buckingham,'  but  the  actor  was 
somewhat  nervous,  and  in  his  flurry  said, 
'  My  Lord,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  is  dead* 
*  Flummoxed ! '   exclaimed   Kean,   using  his 

favourite  expression.     '  Then  what  the  d 

are  we  to  do  with  him  now.* " 
i6 


234  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

In  this  year  D.  P.  Miller  announced  the  opening, 
of  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  stating  that  he  would 
retain  so  good  an  ordinary  company  that  no 
stars  would  be  required.  He  opened  with 
Richard  the  Third,  W.  Johnston  playing  title 
role  and  John  Grey  the  part  of  Richmond.  The 
circumstances  which  led  to  Miller's  adopting  the 
theatrical  profession  were  peculiar.  In  1839 
he  was  a  showman  at  Glasgow  Fair,  conducting 
a  conjuring  booth  which  stood  opposite  to 
Anderson's,  **  the  Wizard  of  the  North,"  who 
was  then  coining  money  with  his  Great  Gun 
Trick.  Miller  copied  the  trick,  charging  one 
penny  admission,  where  Anderson  charged  six- 
pence. The  profit  which  he  gained  from  this 
enabled  him  to  commence  the  Adelphi.  His 
greatest  hit  was  a  performance  of  As  You  Like 
It,  with  Miss  Saker  as  Rosalind.  This  lady  in 
the  course  of  events  became  Mrs.  R.  H. 
Wyndham.  The  Touchstone  on  this  occasion 
was  Henry  Lloyd. 

To  the  Adelphi  belongs  the  honour  of  Phelps' 
first  Glasgow  appearance  on  14th  February, 
1 843,  when  he  essayed  the  part  of  Hamlet.  His 
visits  to  Glasgow  were  very  few,  although  he 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  235 

was  always  a  favourite  in  that  city.  His  last 
performances  there  were  the  Bailie  and  Sir 
Pertinax  MacSycophant,  the  latter  being 
considered  one  of  the  finest  interpretations  of 
the  part. 

Perhaps  at  this  juncture  a  reference  to  that 
historical  institution,  beloved  of  our  grandsires, 
Mumford's  Geggie,  may  not  be  inopportune. 
Its  owner  was  a  Bedfordshire  man.  As  a  child 
he  was  far  ahead  of  his  playfellows.  He  con- 
structed a  dress  for  himself  made  solely  of 
straw,  and  this  led  to  his  being  regarded  as  the 
lion  of  his  native  town.  Flushed  with  his 
success,  he  took  the  road  to  London,  where  he 
exhibited  in  the  open  air.  After  being  con- 
stantly worried  by  the  police,  he  set  up  a 
marionette  show,  and,  at  the  end  of  his  travels, 
he  finally  landed,  in  Glasgow,  where  the  pristine 
youth  of  that  city  regarded  him  as  a  public 
benefactor.  But  a  periodic  worship  of  the  * 
bottle  fiend  would  sometimes  lead  to  weeks  of 
enforced  absence.  Upon  his  return,  he  would 
often  give  an  open-air  address  on  the  tem- 
perance question.  "If  you  knew,"  he  hiccuped 
one  day,  as  he  supported  himself  by  one  of  the 


236  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

posts  of  his  show,  **  if  you  knew  the  advantages 
to  be  derived  from  abstaining  from  intoxicating 
drink,  you  would  shun  whisky  (hie)  as  you 
would  the  very  devil."  "  You're  drunk  your- 
self I"  said  one  of  the  crowd.  "I  know  it/* 
said  Mumford,  "  but  what  did  I  get  drunk  for? 
Not  for  my  own  gratification,  but  (hie)  for  your 
profit,  that  you  might  see  what  a  beast  a  man 
is  when  he  puts  an  enemy  to  his  lips.  I 
got  drunk  (hie)  for  your  good.'* 

Alexander,  finding  out  that  Mumford's  Show 
Was  interfering  with  the  rights  of  his  patent, 
obtained  an  injunction  against  him,  which 
resulted  in  the  closing  of  the  *'  Geggie." 

It  was  in  the  month  of  May,  1843,  that 
Edmund  Glover  brought  his  Edinburgh  com- 
pany, seventy  in  all,  to  the  Dunlop  Street 
house,  where,  amongst  other  things,  he  played 
Romeo  and  Petruchio. 

On  December  i  ith  of  the  same  year,  Helen 
Faucit  made  her  debiit  at  the  Theatre  Royal. 
Her  initial  performance  was  Pauline  in  The 
Lady  of  Lyons,  and,  during  her  seventeen 
nights'  engagement,  she  appeared  in  the  parts 
of   Juliet,    Rosalind,   Mrs.    Haller,    and   Lady 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.         237 

Macbeth.  Her  farewell  performance  was  given 
on  December  5th,  1870,  when  she  played 
Beatrice  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing.  To 
Glasgow  she  was  the  favourite  actress,  and  to 
the  last  she  was  entirely  beloved,  after  an 
acquaintance  of  twenty- seven  years  with  the 
audiences  of  this  city. 

Returning  to  Alexander,  his  salary  list  was 
a  proverbially  niggard  one,  and,  as  the  years 
passed,  he  became  increasingly  mean.  During 
its  existence,  his  stock  company  could  boast  the 
names  of  such  sterling  actors  as  Glover,  Powrie, 
Paumier,  Lloyd,  Fitzroy,  and  Webster.  It  is 
said  that,  in  The  Hunchback,  Miss  Faucit  as 
Juha,  Glover  as  Master  Walter,  and  Powrie  as 
Clifford,  were  never  equalled.  Coming  as  she 
did  from  such  a  perfect  stage  manager  as 
Macready,  Miss  Faucit  was  inclined  to  be 
autocratic,  and,  as  a  consequence,  was  never 
really  loved  by  the  professionals.  Instances 
occurred  where  she  would  be  about  two  hours 
late  for  rehearsals,  and  upon  her  arrival  would 
insist  upon  the  whole  play  being  again 
rehearsed.  Every  attention  had  to  be  lavished 
upon  her.    A  large  draught  screen  was  placed 


238  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

behind  her,  a  cushioned  arm-chair  was  provided, 
and  during  the  performance  the  green  room, 
usually  the  common  property  of  the  cast,  had 
to  be  completely  reserved  for  her  use.  She 
was  a  willing  worker  in  the  cause  of  charity. 
Her  last  public  appearance  was  at  the 
St.  Andrew's  Hall,  where  she  gave  dramatic 
readings. in  aid  of  the  Fund  for  the  assistance 
of  the  City  Bank  victims. 

At  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  Miller  opened  up  his 
second  season  in  1844,  ^^id  now  devoted  him- 
self to  the  task  of  strengthening  his  stock 
company.  His  leading  man  was  Tom  Lyon, 
the  London  Adelphi  favourite;  Melloure,  low 
comedian;  and  Stark  and  M'Gregor,  Scotch 
comedians.  On  his  list  of  stars  appeared  the 
names  of  Graham,  Lloyd,  Sheridan  Knowles, 
and  Mackay,  the  last  named  as  the  Bailie,  a 
fact  which  was  facetiously  announced  that  he 
"  now  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  his  ain 
locality,  the  Sautmarket." 

Christmas  of  1844  saw  the  production  of 
Cinderella,  admittedly  one  of  the  best  spectacles 
Glasgow  had  ever  witnessed.  The  pantomime 
included     the     famous     Leclercq    family — M. 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  239 

Leclercq,  the  ballet  master;  Charles  Leclercq 
(late  of  Daly's  company) ;  Arthur  Leclercq, 
famous  as  a  clown;  Louise,  the  dancer; 
Carlotta  and  Rose  Leclercq,  with  whose  death 
some  years  ago  passed  away  the  last  of  the 
**  grandes  dames,"  a  special  character  line, 
peculiar  to  fin  de  slecle  drama. 

In  this  year,  Alexander's  company  included 
Miss  Laura  Addison,  who  became  leading  lady 
with  Phelps  at  Sadlers  Wells  Theatre.  When 
Alexander  produced  Rob  Roy,  with  Paumier  in 
the  title  role,  he  himself  assumed  the  part  of 
the  Bailie,  somewhat  unsuccessfully,  as  it  was 
pronounced  to  be  a  pale  echo  of  Mackay's 
impersonation.  An  excerpt  from  the  then 
existent  Dramatic  Review  says:  — 

"  The  whole  time  Mr.  Alexander  was  on 
the  stage  he  was  directing  everybody,  players, 
scene  shifters,  and  gas-men,  saying,  for  in- 
stance audibly,  '  Come  down  here,  sir.' 
*  Stand  you  there,  sir.'  "  MacStuart,  that's 
not  your  place.'  *  Keep  time  with  the  air  as 
I  do.'  '  Hold  up  your  head,  sir.'  '  Speak 
out.'  Never  for  a  moment  did  he  allow  the 
audience  to  forget  that  he  was  manager.  He 
beat  time  to  the  orchestra;  he  spoke  to  the 


240  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

musicians;  he  sang  the  music  for  other 
people,  and  he  spoke  their  words.  In 
theatrical  parlance,  his  greatest  delight  was 
'  to  show  the  company  up.'  " 

A  more  notorious  episode  occurred  at  a 
performance  of  Julius  Ccesar.  Alexander  was 
playing  Cassius,  when  a  gentleman  in  the  boxes 
commenced  to  titter  at  him.  The  manager 
paused  and  glared  at  the  auditor,  but  ineffec- 
tively. Then  Cassius  stepped  forward:  **  I 
must  request  the  gentleman  to  pay  more  atten- 
tion to  good  manners  and  to  the  feelings  of  the 
audience.  I  can't  have  the  entertainment 
spoiled  by  the  disgraceful  conduct  of  a  Puppy. 
For  myself,  I  consider  I  am  quite  competent 
to  play  the  part  I  am  engaged  in,  and  if  that 
fellow  in  the  boxes  continues  his  annoyance,  I 
shall  feel  myself  compelled  to  personally  turn 
him  out."  The  play  was  then  continued,  but 
not  for  long.  Again  the  laughter  began,  and 
Paumier,  who  played  Brutus,  got  over  the  foot- 
lights, climbed  into  the  box,  and  turned  the 
offender  out. 

In  the  year  1845,  Anderson,  "The  Wizard 
of  the  North,"  made  a  bid  for  theatrical  success 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  241 

by  building  a  splendid  theatre  on  The  Green 
and  calling  it  by  the  name  of  *'  The  City 
Theatre."  Having  opened  it  during  the 
Glasgow  Fair  for  the  display  of  magic  and  for 
dancing,  he  afterwards  applied  for  a  dramatic 
license.  Though  at  first  refused,  it  was  finally 
granted,  and  on  7  th  May  he  commenced  with 
an  Operatic  company  which  included  J.  S. 
Reeves  (Sims  Reeves).  In  an  endeavour  to 
emulate  the  grandeur  of  The  City  Theatre, 
Anderson  had  the  Adelphi  reconstructed  at  a 
cost  of  £2,000.  His  company  went  to  Edin- 
burgh during  these  operations,  appearing  in  the 
drama,  Cherry  and  Fair  Star.  In  his  absence 
from  Glasgow,  Alexander  put  into  force  a  form 
of  arrestment,  seizing  the  property  and  all 
available  cash,  in  lieu  of  payment  of  the  unpaid 
law  expenses  of  a  previous  prosecution. 

Anderson's  Theatre  proved  a  great  draw. 
Sims  Reeves  and  Morley  both  appeared  in  The 
Bohemian  Girl,  in  which  it  is  reported  **  the 
tenor  created  a  furore."  Here  Mrs.  Fitz- 
william  from  the  London  Adelphi  charmed  all 
beholders  by  her  performance  in  The  Belle  of 
the  Hotel  and  in  The  Flowers  of  the  Forest. 


242  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

To  him  also  came,  as  a  member  of  the  stock 
company,  young  Barry  Sullivan,  whose  articu- 
lation was  very  distinct,  but  who  did  not  appear 
to  understand  any  character  he  attempted.  On 
the  night  of  November  i8th,  1845,  The  City 
Theatre  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire.  Upon 
the  same  evening,  performances  of  Der  Freis- 
chutz  and  The  Jewess  had  been  given.  In  the 
conflagration  everything  was  lost. 

That  there  were  *'  superior "  people  in 
Glasgow  in  these  days  is  evinced  by  the 
following  extract  taken  from  the  Dean  of  Guild 
Report,  6th  July,   1849:  — 

**  Calvert,  of  the  wooden  Hibernian 
Theatre,  obtained  authority  to  erect  a  new 
brick  edifice  in  Greendyke  Street  immedi- 
ately to  the  east  of  the  Episcopal  Chapel, 
and  adjoining  the  Model  Lodging  Houses  for 
the  working  classes.  Now  that  the  Adelphi 
Theatre,  the  City  Theatre,  and  Cook's  Circus 
have  been  all  swept  off  the  Green  by  fire  in 
less  than  four  years,  we  have  no  doubt  that 
this  Hibernian  will  have  *  ample  room  and 
verge  enough  '  for  dishing  up  the  penny 
drama  for  the  delectation  and  improvement 
of  the  canaille  and  young  Red  Republicans 


THE  GLASGOW  STAGE.  243 

of  the  Bridgegate,  the  Wynds,  Saltmarket, 
High  Street,  the  Vennels,  and  the  Havannahs. 
Since  the  house  is  to  go  up,  the  Court  wisely 
resolved  to  look  to  its  security  by  appointing 
Mr.  Andrew  Brockett,  wright,  to  inspect  it 
during  its  progress,  and  see  to  its  sufficiency." 

The  building  was  Calvert's  new  theatre,  which 
he  christened  "  The  Queen's  Theatre." 

With  the  year  1845  commences  the  records 
of  the  travelling  companies,  and  with  that  our 
history  of  the  Glasgow  stage  should  appro- 
priately end.  The  first  company  came  from 
the  Theatre  Royal,  Haymarket,  and  amongst 
its  members  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of 
Howe,  Holl,  Brindal,  Braid,  Tilbury,  Coe,  Little. 
Clark,  Miss  Julia  Bennett  and  Mrs.  Heunley. 
Someone  has  said  that  the  story  of  a  people 
must  be  the  history  of  its  great  men,  and  so  with 
equal  relevancy  one  might  say  that  he  who 
would  read  the  latter  history  of  dramatic 
Glasgow  must  read  the  records  of  Britain's 
theatrical  stars  of  the  past  and  present  genera- 
tions, wliere  the  appreciation  of  the  Glasgowi 
audiences  reads  as  one  of  the  chief  conquests 
they  have  made. 


244  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

PERTH    DRAMATIC    RECORDS. 

Perth  makes  its  demand  for  notice  to  the 
stage-historian  as  the  Scottish  city  which, 
from  its  earliest  days,  has  stubbornly  upheld 
the  claims  of  Drama  to  its  part  in  the  mental 
equipment  of  the  perfect  citizen.  For  the 
moment,  those  advocates  who  ask  for  a  folk- 
drama,  which  shall  express  either  the  soul  of 
a  nation  or  the  spirit  of  the  folk,  must  perforce 
hold  their  peace.  But  when  the  time  is  ripe 
for  further  propaganda,  they  might  take  note 
how  much  Perth  did,  not  only  to  further 
dramatic  art,  but  to  support  that  furtive 
growth,  the  Scots  Drama.  The  fact,  that  it 
was  a  complete  and  self-contained  community 
of  intensive  culture,  may  account  for  that  good- 
fellowship  which  its  fostering  of  the  dramatic 
art  drew  forth.  Such  a  consideration  should 
not  by  any  means  derogate  from  the  claim  that 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    245 

commerce  had  not  in  any  way  made  this  art 
callous  to  the  demand  of  the  spirit — a  trait 
which  the  author  regrets  seems  to  be  absent  in 
the  dramatic  history  of  other  Scottish  towns — 
too  sorely  hplden  down  with  religious  super- 
stitions. At  any  rate,  Perth,  judging  from  its 
records,  seems  from  the  beginning  to  have  been 
kindly  disposed  to  the  mummer  and  have  taken 
him  readily  to  its  bosom.  What  successive 
theatrical  managers  addressed  as  "  the  nobility, 
gentry,  and  inhabitants  of  Perth  and  its 
vicinity  "  were  enthusiastic  playgoers  in  the 
days  when  Perth  was  a  county  town  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word.  There  was  no  rail- 
way— five  public  coaches  provided  the  links 
between  Edinburgh  and  Aberdeen;  Perth  and 
Edinburgh;  Perth  and  Glasgow;  Perth  and 
Inverness ;  and  between  Perth  and  Aberdeen 
via  Dundee,  Arbroath,  Montrose,  and  the  coast. 
There  were  many  social  societies  who  made 
public  visits  en  masse  to  the  theatre,  and  more 
than  any  other  city  the  officials  of  Perth 
patronised  the  theatre.  Perth  indeed  fulfilled 
its  duty  to  the  fullest  in  helping  dramatic  art 
along   at    a   period   when   its    followers   were 


246  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

regarded  as  the  Ishmaels  of  Society.  Those 
who  are  fortunate  enough  to  happen  upon  Peter 
Baxter's  illuminating  volume,  The  Drama  in 
Perth,  have  in  store  a  rich  fund  of  theatre-ania 
from  which  to  construct  a  more  detailed  account 
of  the  Perth  Stage  than  the  scope  of  the  present 
book  warrants. 

Perth  holds  its  own  early  records  of  the 
performances  of  Mysteries  and  Moralities,  one 
of  the  most  favoured  mystery-plays  in  Perth 
being  Corpus  Christi.  The  guisards  in  Perth 
went  about  on  the  last  night  of  the  year  asking 
for  **  carls,"  and  we  have  also  stories  of  the 
presentation  of  Robin  Hood,  Little  John,  Queen 
of  May,  and  the  other  historic  pastimes  referred 
to  in  previous  chapters.  It  was  after  playing 
as  **  Prince  of  the  Revels  "  that  the  Duke  of 
Rothesay  incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  father, 
King  Robert  III.,  when  he  was  banished  to 
Falkland  Palace.  Sir  David  Lyndsay's  Satire 
was  performed  outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  in 
the  amphitheatre  of  St.  Johnstoun,  in  1535, 
before  a  vast  audience,  which  included  James  V. 

The  Perth  Kirk  Session  had  to  warn  its 
people    against    play-acting   in    1574.      Such 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    247 

ungodly  plays,  they  said,  boded  no  good  to  the 
people,  as  witness  when  the  Perth  bakers 
celebrated  their  annual  festival  in  1581  by 
performing  Saint  Oberfs  Play,  the  Kirk  Session 
issued  an  "  act  against  idolatrous  and  super- 
stitious pastimes,  especially  against  the  Saint 
Ohert's  Play"  Eight  years  later,  the  Church' 
dignitaries  must  have  grown  more  tolerant,  for, 
when  a  company  of  players  applied  for  a  license 
to  the  Consistory  of  the  Church,  it  was  granted, 
subject  to  the  condition  that  it  contained  no 
swearing,  etc.  The  Session  Records  do  not 
provide  the  name  of  the  company  of  players, 
but  they  may  have  been  those  of  the  Earl  of 
Leicester,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  or  the  Lordi 
Chamberlain's  company,  with  which  Shake- 
speare was  associated. 

When  King  James,  in  1606,  held  his  Red 
Parliament  at  Perth,  a  kind  of  pastoral  play, 
or  more  properly  a  Coliseum  spectacle,  was 
enacted  on  the  South  Inch  between  the  followers 
of  the  Earls  of  Eglinton  and  Glencairn.  After 
a  four  hours'  bloody  fight,  **  the  Town  rose  in 
arms  and  separated  the  combatants  "  and  pre- 
sumably performed  the  ambulance  rites. 


248  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

In  1 63 1,  Perth  honoured  the  visit  of 
Charles  I.  by  presenting  a  pageant,  one  of  the 
features  of  which  was  a  sword  dance  performed, 
by  thirteen  dancers,  upon  a  floating  platform 
moored  alongside  the  Tay,  opposite  Cowrie 
House. 

Abundant  evidence  of  the  fondness  of  its 
citizens  for  the  play  is  afforded  in  the  records 
of  the  Perth  Grammar  School.  The  Council 
of  Perth  paid  to  Patrick  Rynd,  minister  of  Dron, 
on  ist  August,  1616,  the  sum  of  20  merks  for 
constructing  a  play  which  was  probably  acted 
by  the  scholars.  On  the  Tuesday  after  Candle- 
mas, 1734,  the  pupils  performed  Cato  before 
an  audience  of  "300  ladies  and  gentlemen,'* 
and  the  presentation  was  evidently  under  public 
auspices,  for  we  are  told  that  afterwards  '*  the. 
Magistrates  entertained  the  gentlemen  at  a 
tavern."  The  following  year,  although  the 
Kirk  Session  signified  to  the  Master  of  the 
Grammar  School  that  **  the  said  tragedy  gives 
offence,"  the  Master  put  on  two  performances 
of  George  Barnwell,  the  Idle  Apprentice,  before 
large  and  distinguished  audiences. 

The  traces  of  the  professional  drama  in  Perth 


b 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    249 

do  not  make  themselves  sufficiently  clear  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
although  it  would  appear  that  strolling  com- 
panies visited  Perth  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
If  so,  they  must  have  had  to  content  themselves 
with  a  portable  building,  for  it  is  not  till  1780 
that  we  find  they  could  literally  obtain  house- 
room.  In  this  year,  it  is  stated,  a  company  of 
players  opened  up  in  *'  a  flat  of  one  of  these 
houses,  a  little  below  the  North  Secession 
Meeting  House,"  on  the  north  side  of  High 
Street,  and  played  a  three-night-weekly  pro- 
gramme. As  the  drawings  could  not  have 
amounted  to  more  than  40s.  a  night,  it  can 
only  be  hoped  the  *'  company  "  was  small. 

The  chronicler  of  the  period  says  *'  their 
personal  appearance  was  the  shabby  genteel  in 
the  true  sense  of  the  word."  On  that  amount 
of  wealth  it  would  be.  After  this  the  Old  Guild 
Hall  seemed  to  have  given  harbour  to  the 
players,  but,  evidently,  the  officials  were  not 
proud  of  their  tenants,  for  neither  the  name  of 
the  companies  nor  the  plays  are  mentioned. 
Simple  statements  are  given  of  payments  for  a 
week  or  so  many  nights,  one  writer  describing 
17 


250  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

the  tenants  as  of  a  '*  tag-rag  description."  Still 
the  mummers  must  be  grateful — the  old  Guild 
Hall  provided  a  home  for  the  Drama  prior  to 
1785,  upon  which  date  we  gather  that  the 
building  of  the  Glovers'  Hall  in  George  Street 
gave  haven  to  **  the  Edinburgh  company  who 
came  over  to  Perth."  The  Glovers'  Hall  was 
built  in  1786,  and  subsequently  fitted  tempor- 
arily as  a  theatre,  with  pit  and  gallery,  but  no 
boxes.  Here  Sutherland's  Edinburgh  company 
appeared  several  times.  Unluckily,  the  per- 
sonnel of  the  various  companies  and  the  pro- 
grammes presented  are  not  available. 

The  Perth  Glovers'  Incorporation  books 
record  one  entry  which  is  of  interest  (April 
22nd,   1788):  — 

**  The  Deacon  informed  the  Incorporation 
that  a  party  of  Players  purposed  taking  the 
new  Hall  from  week  to  week  after  Whit 
Sunday  next,  at  the  rent  of  two  pounds  stg., 
weekly,  payable  each  Monday,  and  to  pay 
any  damage  that  may  be  done." 

As  the  Incorporation  failed  to  record  the  names 
of  the  companies,  we  are  left  to  conjecture 
whether  it  was  Sutherland's  company,  or  that 


I 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    251 

of  Moss  and  Bell,  who  were  the  first  to  run  a* 
stock  cx)mpany  in  the  Glovers'  Hall  Theatre. 
The  first  indication  in  the  city  records  of  the' 
plays  produced  there  is  the  announcement,  in 
1792,  of  an  original  play,  The  Siege  of  Perth, 
or  Sir  William  Wallace,  by  A.  MacLaren  of 
Perth,  under  the  direction  of  Sutherland.  The 
play  was  published  later  in  book  form,  and 
included  the  favourite  ballad,  **  Macgregor 
Aruaro."  Beaumont  followed  Moss  and  Bell 
as  the  next  tenant,  and  was  allowed  to  sub -let 
to  Trueman  and  MacGregor  of  the  Edinburgh 
Theatre  Royal,  at  a  rent  of  £75  per  annum. 
The  records  concerning  the  companies  and 
players  are  so  scanty  that  no  complete  details 
can  be  gathered  until  i6th  August,  1809,  when 
Trueman  and  MacGregor  announced  on  that 
date  the  opening  of  their  season  with  the  per- 
formance of  "A  Favourite  Comedy  and  a 
Musical  Entertainment  by  the  Edinburgh 
Company  of  Comedians."  Cooke,  the  well- 
known  actor,  •*  starred  "  for  six  nights, 
beginning  22nd  August,  when  he  appeared 
in  the  roles  of  Shylock  and  Sir  Pertinax 
MacSycophant.     Fawcett,  the  comedian,  from 


252  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Covent  Garden,  followed  him,  appearing  in 
Colman's  comedies,  The  Poor  Gentleman, 
John  Bull,  and  The  Heir  at  Law,  as  well  as 
The  Road  to  Ruin  and  The  Blind  Bargain. 
O'Keefe's  opera,  The  Castle  of  Andalusia  (from 
Gil  Bias),  was  performed  on  September  ist, 
the  entertainment  concluding  with  a  pantomime 
sketch.  The  Deserter  of  Naples.  On  September 
6th,  Rock,  the  comedian,  appeared  as  Sir  Peter 
Teazle  in  The  School  for  Scandal,  and  during 
his  two  weeks*  engagement  was  seen  in  The 
Rivals  and  other  Sheridan  plays,  as  well  as  the 
pantomime  of  Cinderella. 

Versatility  was  a  jewel  in  those  days  of  mixed 
programmes,  just  as  it  is  to-day,  when  we  are 
suffering  from  a  surfeit  of  Revues.  Fawcett, 
to  whom  we  have  just  referred,  could  and  did 
sing  in  opera,  as  well  as  in  burletta.  The 
Beggar's  Opera  seems  to  have  been  performed 
for  the  first  time  in  Perth  on  September  29th. 
The  season  ended  with  a  series  of  benefit  nights 
numerous  enough  to  indicate  how  large  and 
representative  a  display  of  talents  the  Edin- 
burgh comedians  could  boast.  Just  as  the  Perth 
public  were  being  won  for  the  theatre,  came 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    253 

the  great  disaster.  Sutherland's  company 
were  one  night  performing  Macbeth  to  an 
over-crowded  house.  Macbeth  was  pent  on 
his  soliloquy,  *'  This  is  a  sorry  sight,"  when  a 
sudden  rending  of  wood  was  heard,  the  supports 
of  the  gallery  gave  way,  and  the  occupants  came 
down  with  a  dreadful  crash  on  to  the  floor 
beneath.  The  house  held  three  hundred  nor- 
mally. With  the  pressure  and  consternation 
that  arose,  a  scene  of  indescribable  confusion 
followed.  Men  and  women  crawled  out  from 
the  broken  rafters  and  debris,  and,  although 
there  were  three  entrances,  only  one  exit  was 
available.  To  this  the  crowd  rushed  and  a 
panic  ensued.  Although  a  good  many 
casualties  resulted,  no  one  was  killed.  But 
the  event  served  to  close  the  career  of  the 
Glovers*  Hall  Theatre. 

The  Drama  was  not  long  without  a  home. 
When  the  Perth  Grammar  School,  which  dated 
from  about  the  fifteenth  century,  became  vacant, 
an  effort  was  made  to  fit  up  the  building  as  a 
playhouse,  and  on  2nd  May,  1810,  the 
St.  Anne's  Lane  Theatre,  officially  known  as, 
the    New   Theatre,    Grammar    School,    Perth, 


254  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

commenced  its  nine-year  dramatic  career  by 
announcing  the  appearance  of  Mrs.  Glover, 
from  the  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  in  Colman's 
comedy,  The  Jealous  Wife,  supported  by 
Tayleur  as  Sir  Harry  Beagle.  Mrs.  Glover 
appeared  for  four  nights,  performing  also  in 
Wives  as  They  Were ;  reciting  Collin's  **  Ode  to 
the  Passions" ;  and  playing  in  the  farces.  Animal 
Magnetism;  The  Way  to  Keep  Him;  The  Pro- 
voked Husband ;  and  The  Citizen.  The  opening 
season  was  not  auspicious,  a  contemporary 
playgoer  recording  that  he  was  mortified  by 
the  thinness  of  the  "houses."  Evidently  the 
Glovers'  Hall  accident  was  too  fresh  in  the 
public  memory  to  entice  a  larger  audience.  The 
following  week  brought  a  new  programme,  in- 
cluding the  new  drama,  The  African,  Romeo 
and  Juliet,  and  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  It  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  it  was  summer-time,  and 
the  long  **  fore-nichts  "  were  against  theatre- 
going,  so,  after  a  few  scratch  performances  of 
"  the  legitimate  "  and  variety  shows,  including 
Signor  Belzoni  in  "  Feats  of  Strength  "  and 
Tunes  on  the  musical  glasses,  and  Herman 
Boaz's  Thaumaturgical  Exliibitions  and  Magical 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    255 

Deceptions,  the  theatre  did  not  re-open  until 
the  autumn  season. 

Morton's  comedy,  A  Cure  for  the  Heartache 
and  the  farce,  Raising  the  Wind  constituted  the 
opening  bill.  Hunt  Week  at  Perth  gave  the 
theatre  a  chance  to  redeem  itself.  On  two 
successive  days  after  the  public  dinner,  most 
of  the  gentlemen,  and  many  of  the  ladies,  visited 
the  theatre  in  St.  Anne's  Lane,  and  proceeded 
after  to  the  dance,  where  the  famous  fiddler, 
Neil  Gow,  led  his  select  little  orchestra.  Under 
the  patronage  of  the  Duchess  of  Atholl,  there 
was  a  special  night  on  October  4th,  when  the 
opera,  Love  in  a  Village,  was  presented,  fol- 
lowed later  in  the  week  by  Home's  Douglas, 
and  then  by  a  performance  of  The  Beg  gar*  s 
Opera.  The  pantomime.  The  Magic  Cave,  or 
The  Harlequin  in  Scotland,  was  given  during 
the  same  week,  so  that  Perth  had  quite  a  mixed 
dish  in  the  way  of  dramatic  fare. 

The  first  appearance  in  Perth  of  the  son 
of  Mrs.  Siddons  and  her  daughter-in-law 
was  billed  for  the  week  commencing  October 
22nd,  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Siddons  appeared 
for  four  nights  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing, 


256  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Hamlet  (twice),  and  As  You  Like  It,  the 
latter  part  of  the  programme  being  devoted 
to  various  farces  in  which  Mrs.  Siddons 
appeared.  For  their  benefit  night  on  the 
Friday,  the  Siddons  appeared  in  Henry  Siddons' 
play.  Time's  a  Tell  Tale.  It  is  worth  noting 
here  that  the  *'  stars "  of  these  days  were 
supposed  not  only  to  be  versatile  histriones  but 
capable  dramatists,  a  remark  to  which  the 
dramatic  cynic  will  retort  by  stating  that  the 
modern  actor-manager  may  well  claim  the  same 
qualification  after  he  has  laid  violent  hands  on 
the  work  of  his  playwright.  The  strong  man, 
already  referred  to,  Signor  Belzoni,  seems  to 
have  been  an  actor,  too,  for  on  October  29  he 
was  announced  to  appear  in  Macbeth. 

The  Napoleonic  wars  were  now  responsible 
for  bad  trade  in  Perth.  The  cloth  merchants 
who  sold  the  well-known  Perth  fabric  became 
bankrupt,  and  the  adage  that  '*  the  theatre 
follows  the  bag  "  (money-bag)  was  confirmed 
by  the  absence  in  Perth  of  any  theatrical  com- 
panies during  the  next  eighteen  months.  The 
Town  Council,  under  date  March  12,  1 8 1 2,  de- 
cided to  buy  the  stage,  seats,  and  appurtenances 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    257 

of  the  theatre  for  £60  and  advertise  the  building 
for  hire.  Trueman  rented  it  on  a  six  months' 
lease,  at  a  rent  of  £21,  and  ran  a  few  shows. 
Subsequently  the  Town  Council  induced  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Siddons  to  take  up  a  three  years' 
lease  at  £60  per  annum,  but  they  did  not  open 
up  till  later,  their  first  announcement  reading, 
*'  The  Theatre  will  open  for  Six  weeks  with  the 
Edinburgh  Company  on  May  10,  18 13,  with 
a  3  Act  Comedy  '  The  Child  of  Nature,'  the 
part  of  Amanthis  by  Mme  H.  Siddons  whose 
health  will  not  allow  her  the  honour  of 
appearing  more  than  six  evenings  during  the 
present  season."  The  fare  presented  during 
this  six-week  season  included  the  musical 
tragedy  of  Tom  Thumb  the  Great,  Master 
Mason,  performed  by  a  seven-year-old  boy, 
who  also  introduced  Braham's  Bravura  Song. 

Venice  Preserved,  Hamlet,  The  Merchant  of 
Venice,  farce,  pantomime,  and  various  novelties, 
formed  the  rest  of  the  season's  programme. 
The  Siddons  sub -let  the  theatre  to  Henry 
Johnston  on  March  11,  18 14,  when  that  actor 
gave  recitals  from  Cato,  Henry  IV.,  and  Collin's 
"  Ode  to  the  Passions."     The  Siddons'  lease 


258  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

ran  an  uneventful  course,  and  there  is  no 
mention  of  other  entertainments  until  October 
1 7,  when  the  comic  opera,  The  Soldier's  Return, 
was  presented. 

Corbett  Ryder,  the  most  notable  manager  of 
the  Northern  circuit,  which  then  included  Perth, 
Aberdeen,  Montrose,  Arbroath,  and  Dundee, 
was  the  next  tenant  to  whom  the  Council  let 
the  St.  Anne's  Lane  Theatre.  Upon  Ryder 
agreeing  to  accept  a  three-year  lease  at  £50 
yearly,  the  Council  constructed  a  ventilating 
roof.  Ryder  goes  down  to  history  as  the  most 
astute,  kindly,  and  philanthropic  manager  in  the 
records.  He  was  first  in  all  acts  of  charity, 
and  realised  to  the  fullest  his  responsibilities 
as  a  public  entertainer.  His  stock  company 
re-opened  the  Perth  house  on  May  1 2th,  1 8 1 7, 
with  an  appropriately  -  named  play.  The 
Stranger,  the  entire  proceeds  of  the  perform- 
ance being  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  labouring 
poor  of  Perth,  although  this  public -spirited 
action  was  not  without  its  critical  Jonahs,  who 
covertly  attacked  him  in  the  press  on  the  ground 
that  he  expected  to  receive  twenty  times  as  much 
from    the    public.      Ryder    very    courteously 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    259 

replied  that  he  had  already  assisted  to  raise 
£200  in  other  towns  for  a  similar  purpose. 
The  fact  that  the  entire  proceeds  of  the  first 
night  amounted  to  £10  2s.  is  some  indication 
of  the  holding  capacity  of  the  St.  Anne's  Lane 
house,  the  prices  being — boxes,  3s. ;  pit,  2s. ; 
and  gallery,  is.  The  commencing  hour  was 
7,30,  while  half-price  started  at  9  o'clock. 
The  first  Ryder  season  was  a  short  one,  and  in- 
cluded Richard  III.,  Macbeth,  Guy  Manner ing, 
the  new  tragedy  Bertram,  the  new  comedy 
Smiles  and  Tears,  Plzarro,  The  Jealous  Wife, 
and,  on  the  concluding  night,  for  Ryder's 
benefit,  The  Forest  of  Bondy,  or  the  Dog  of 
Montargis,  with  the  actor-manager's  own 
trained  dog  in  the  title-role. 

Prior  to  the  opening  of  his  second  season  on 
1 8th  May,  1 8 1 8,  the  place  had  been  redecorated 
and  new  scenery  provided.  For  the  initial 
performance.  The  School  for  Scandal  was  pre- 
sented, with  the  famous  Mackay  as  Sir  Peter 
Teazle,  Ryder  as  Charles  Surface,  Henry  John- 
ston as  Joseph,  and  Mrs.  Ryder  as  Lady  Teazle. 
Mackay  showed  his  powers  as  a  mimic  the  same 
evening  by  giving  imitations  of  John  Kemble  in 


260  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Lear,  Hamlet,  and  Cato,  Kean  in  Richard  III., 
Shylock,  and  Macbeth,  Munden  in  Polonius, 
Johnston  in  Archy  M 'Sarcasm,  and  Sinclair  in 
the  song  of  "  Auld  Lang  Syne."  The  week 
beginning  May  29,  it  was  announced  that  '*  His 
Majesty's  servants  of  the  Theatre,"  as  Ryder 
described  his  company,  would  enact  Macbeth. 
The  other  Shakespearean  revivals  included 
Julius  CcBsar,  King  Henry  IV. ,  Othello, 
Hamlet,  and  ^45  You  Like  It,  while  the  novelty 
of  the  season  came  in  the  shape  of  the  new 
musical  play,  The  Slave,  specially  mounted,  and 
with  new  and  appropriate  scenery,  dresses,  and 
machinery. 

The  presentation  in  Perth  of  Rob  Roy,  with 
Mackay  in  his  famous  part  as  the  Bailie,  seems 
to  have  upset  all  Ryder's  carefully  ordered 
arrangements.  Produced  originally  at  Covent 
Garden  Theatre  on  1 2th  March,  1 8 1 8,  the  Sir 
Walter  Scott  novel  (dramatised  by  the  English 
playwright,  Isaac  Pocock)  had  already  proved 
an  obstinate  success  elsewhere.  Three  months 
later,  it  cropped  up  at  Perth.  On  Monday, 
June  10,  1 8 18,  a  prior  Scottish  performance 
had  taken  place  at  Glasgow,  with  W.  H.  Murray 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    261 

as  the  Bailie.  Johnston  appeared  in  the  Perth 
production  as  Rob  Roy,  Mrs.  Ryder  as  Diana 
Vernon,  and  Mrs.  M'Namara  as  Helen 
Macgregor.  A  contemporary  journalist,  in 
speaking  of  its  success,  averred  that  "  Mr. 
Johnston  as  Rob  Roy  would  have  appeared  to 
better  advantage  had  he  been  a  little  more 
conversant  with  the  Scottish  dialect."  (This, 
to  the  son  of  an  Edinburgh  man ! )  It  is  evident 
that  Ryder  had  little  notion  of  the  possibilities 
of  Rob  Roy  as  a  draw,  for  he  announced  that 
it  would  be  repeated  on  Friday  night  for  **  the 
third  and  last  time."  Before  his  season  ended, 
the  play  had  to  be  repeated  for  thirteen  further 
performances,  thus  making  the  earliest  Perth 
record  of  a  "  long  run."  Two  of  these  were 
under  the  local  patronage  of  Sir  David 
MoncriefTe  and  the  Perth  Gaelic  Society,  re- 
spectively. The  success  of  Rob  Roy  evidently 
troubled  the  Perth  Grundyites  of  those  days, 
for,  in  a  letter  to  the  Editor  of  a  local  news- 
paper, one  correspondent  complained  that  after 
the  Saturday  night's  performance,  some  of  the 
audience  *'  returned  home  next  morning  roaring 
out  like  madmen,  *  Rob  Roy  for  ever,'  instead 


262  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  preparing  for  the  duties  of  the  succeeding 
day!" 

In  the  interim,  the  noted  actor,  Booth, 
fulfilled  a  six  nights'  engagement  at  St.  Anne's 
Lane,  appearing  in  a  repertoire  which  included 
Richard  III,  After  a  six  weeks'  closure,  the 
theatre  re-opened  during  the  Perth  Race  Week, 
when  Ryder  presented  as  his  *'  star "  the 
London  actor,  Meggett,  in  the  great  musical 
attraction,  The  Slave.  The  Heart  of  Mid- 
lothian seems  to  have  been  staged  at  Perth  the 
next  season,  for  under  date  August  6th,  1819, 
Mrs.  Alsop,  a  London  actress,  is  announced  as 
appearing  in  the  part  of  Jeanie  Deans.  Another 
Scott  adaptation,  Robert  the  Bruce,  derived 
from  The  Lord  of  the  Isles,  was  presented. 
The  official  close  of  the  theatre  was  announced 
for  I  oth  August,  1 8 1 9,  the  occasion  of  Ryder's 
benefit,  "  by  desire,"  and  under  the  immediate 
patronage  of  the  Lord  Provost  and  Magistrates, 
when  The  Heir  at  Law  and  The  Heart  of  Mid- 
lothian were  presented  to  a  bumper  house. 
Save  for  a  few  irregular  engagements,  the 
theatre  stood  empty  for  three  or  four  years, 
when  an  unexplained  fire  reduced  the  place  to 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    263 

ruins.  So  ended  the  career  of  the  Perth  house, 
which  had  first  given  haven  to  the  immortalised 
Rob  Roy. 

To  Corbett  Ryder,  it  was  abundantly  evident 
that  the  old  theatre  was  an  impossible  house 
if  he  desired  to  continue  his  policy  of  providing 
the  best  in  Drama  for  his  Perth  friends.  There 
were  times,  when  a  special  engagement  took 
place,  that  he  was  unable  to  cope  with  the 
crowd.  Those  who  booked  seats,  as  was  the 
custom,  sent  their  servants  in  advance  to  retain 
them  till  their  arrival,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
sometimes  the  servants  could  get  out.  Ryder 
conceived  the  idea  of  erecting  a  new  theatre, 
and  on  1 4th  August,  1 8 1 8,  an  appeal  was  made 
for  subscribers.  The  proposal  was  taken  up 
enthusiastically  by  influential  citizens,  and  the 
concrete  result  was  the  erection  of  the  Theatre 
Royal,  Perth,  situate  at  the  junction  of  AthoU 
Street  and  Kinnoul  Street,  which  was  opened 
on  28th  August,  1820.  Again,  as  in  the  case 
of  Glasgow,  Aberdeen,  and  Dundee,  Kirk  and 
Stage  interchanged  their  amenities — the  theatre 
was  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  old  Black- 
friars  Monastery,  actually  upon  the  foimdation 


264  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

walls— thus  providing  another  version  of  the  old 
h>Tnn,  **  the  stage's  sure  foundation,"  etc.  Here 
is  the  opening  play  bill:  — 

THEATRE  ROYAL,  PERTH. 

Mr.  RYDER  is  proud  to  announce  to  the  Nobility, 
Gentry,  and  Inhabitants  in  general  in  Perth  and  the 
surrounding  country,  that  he  will  have  the  honour  of 
OPENING  the  NEW  THEATRE  on 

MONDAY  EVENING,  Aug.  28,  1820. 
(For  a  limited  visit,  in  the  present  instance,  of  one 

Fortnight.) 
On  which  occasion  he  has  been  so  fortunate  as  to  engage 

MR.   WILLIAM    MACREADY, 
Principal    Performer  of   the    Theatre    Royal,   Covent 
Garden,  who  will,  in   SIX   SUCCESSIVE   NIGHTS, 
appear  in  a  selection  of  his  most  favourite  characters. 

The  Theatre  opens  with  Shakespeare's 
Tragedy  of 

«  MACBETH," 
The  part  of  Macbeth  by  Mr.  Macready. 


Terms  of  admission  during  Mr.  Macready 's  Nights, 
and  other  regulations,  will  appear  in  a  future  Advertise- 
ment and  Bills  of  the  day. 


MONDAY,     -     "  Macbeth,"    -     Macbeth  by  Mr.  Macready. 
TUESDAY,   -    "  Virginias,"    -    Virginias  by  Mr.  Macready. 

Virginia  by  Miss  Atkins. 
WEDNESDAY,   "Richard  III.,"  Richard  by  Mr.  Macready. 
THURSDAY,    "Coriolanus,"    Coriolanas  by  Mr.  Macready. 
FRIDAY,     -     "  Virginias,"    -    Virginias  by  Mr.  Macready. 
SATURDAY,  "Romeo  and  Juliet."  Romeo  by  Mr.  Macready. 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    265 

The  theatre  accommodated  five  hundred, 
consisted  of  a  pit,  nine  dress  circle  boxes,  an 
upper  gallery  and  two  gallery  boxes,  where  the 
musicians  were  placed,  there  being  no  orchestral 
dock  in  the  stage  front. 

Macready,  who  was  the  opening  '*  star,"  was 
then  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  in  his  first 
performance  of  Macbeth,  he  kept  the  audience 
"  spell-bound  from  start  to  finish."  The  fort- 
night's engagement  was  a  huge  success.  Miss 
Atkins  was  the  daughter  of  Ryder's  scene 
painter,  and  it  was  she  who  subsequently  be- 
came Mrs.  William  Macready.  The  piquant 
details  of  the  romance  of  the  austere  tragedian 
and  the  unsophisticated  maid  are  fully  set  forth 
in  Macready's  Reminiscences.  "  My  oppor- 
tunities of  conversation  with  this  interesting; 
creature,"  wrote  Macready,  **  were  very  fre- 
quent, which,  as  they  occurred,  1  grew  less  and 
less  desirous  of  avoiding.  Her  strong  senscj 
and  unaffected  warmth  of  feeling  received 
additional  charm  from  the  perfect  artlessness 
with  which  she  ventured  her  opinions.  The 
interest  with  which  I  regarded  her  1  persuaded 

myself  was  that  of  an  older  friend,  and  partook 
i8 


266  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

of  a  paternal  character.  All  the  advice  my 
experience  could  give  her  in  her  professional 
studies  she  gratefully  accepted  and  skilfully 
applied,"  and  so  forth.  If  William  was  so 
priggish  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age — he  must 
have  been  "  gey  ill  "  to  live  with.  And  yet 
they  say  the  absence  of  a  sense  of  htunour  is  a 
Scots  trait !  Still  Macready  married  the  lass 
on  24th  June,  1824,  and  they  lived  **  happily 
ever  afterwards." 

For  the  week  following  this  engagement, 
Ryder  had  booked  Young  of  Covent  Garden, 
who  appeared  for  five  nights  in  The  Revenge, 
The  Jealous  Wife,  and  Hamlet.  Ryder  brought 
Mackay  from  Edinburgh  to  support  him. 

Sporadically  during  the  succeeding  months, 
the  perennial  Rob  Roy  appeared  in  the  Theatre 
Royal  bill,  once  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Stewards  of  the  Perth  Races,  and  again  of  that 
of  the  members  of  the  local  Gaelic  Society,  and 
always  to  crowded  audiences.  On  6th  October 
the  musical  drama,  Guy  Mannering  was  pro- 
duced by  Ryder's  company  before  an  en- 
thusiastic house,  the  company  ending  the 
entertainment    with    the    musical    farce,    The 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    267 

Highland  Reel.  To  Mackay,  the  manager 
allowed  a  special  benefit  at  the  end  of  the 
season,  when  Rob  Roy  was  presented  for  **  the 
126th  and  last  time." 

The  "  star  "  chosen  by  Ryder  to  initiate  his 
second  year  was  Terry,  the  eminent  comedian, 
famous  then  for  his  Sir  Peter  Teazle.  Terry, 
appeared  in  The  School  for  Scandal  on  Monday, 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday  to  allow  of 
other  towns  witnessing  the  famous  actor. 
Macbeth  was  chosen  by  Terry  for  his  Friday, 
evening's  bill,  when  he  also  appeared  in  The 
Critic,  as  an  after-piece,  and  during  the  follow- 
ing week  he  assumed  the  role  of  Dominie 
Sampson  in  Guy  Mannering.  Terry  was  not 
a  financial  success — evidently  his  excellent  work 
in  London  was  not  properly  known.  The 
Theatre  Royal's  first  grand  pantomime.  The 
Forty  Thieves,  was  produced  on  12th  January, 
1 82 1,  being  preceded  by  the  tragedy,  Brutus: 
or  the  Fall  of  Tarquin.  To  those  who  consider 
the  amusement  of  the  bairns  was  neglected  in 
the  old  days,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  note  that 
the  pantomime  was  repeated  '*  For  the  Benefit 
of   the   Juveniles   of    Perth "   on   Wednesday, 


268  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

31st  January,  and  was  followed  by  Tarn  o' 
Shunter  and  His  Mare  Meg.  A  production  of 
Henry  VI U.  met  with  a  great  reception,  and 
had  to  be  repeated  the  following  night.  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  new  play,  The  Antiquary,  was 
staged  on  February  19th.  Ryder  chose 
Henry  /V.  as  his  benefit  piece,  appearing  him- 
self in  the  part  of  FalStaff.  In  his  absence, 
the  theatre  harboured  a  good  many  varied 
entertainments;  concerts;  a  grand  panorama, 
'*  The  Bombardment  of  Algiers  " ;  the  three 
celebrated  vocalists.  Miss  Wilson,  Mr.  Horn, 
and  Mr.  Welsh,  in  the  comic  opera.  Love  in 
a  Village ;  and  it  was  not  until  September  that 
the  theatre  resumed  its  regular  programme  of 
plays,  when  Talbot,  the  well-known  player, 
opened  up  in  Sheridan's  Pizarro,  appearing 
subsequently  in  The  Orphan  of  Geneva,  The 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  The  Suspicious 
Husband,  The  Clandestine  Husband,  and 
sundry  other  favourite  pieces  of  the  period. 
Talbot  was  regarded  as  an  excellent  actor, 
polished  in  manner,  and  with  a  good  many, 
natural  graces.  The  staging  of  Hallowe'en,  or 
Vampire  and  Water  Kelpie  deserves  mention 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    269 

on  accoiint  of  the  special  scenery  that  had  been 
prepared,  and  the  care  that  was  exercised  in 
weaving  the  national  airs  into  the  thread  of 
the  story.  Ryder  finished  up  his  season  in 
November,  and,  finding  business  so  good  at  his 
Aberdeen  Theatre,  did  not  return  until  12th 
March,  1822.  In  his  absence,  several  variety 
performances  occupied  the  stage,  among  others 
Chalon,  the  Illusionist;  and  an  Indian  juggler; 
O'Brian,  the  Irish  Giant,  7  feet,  9  inches; 
Mrs.  Cook,  giantess,  7  feet;  and  the  Yorkshire 
Little  Man,  30  inches  high. 

The  next  item  of  importance  was  the  first 
appearance  of  Kean  in  Perth  Theatre  Royal, 
where  he  opened  up  in  Richard  III.  Owing  to 
the  great  expense  incurred,  prices  were  ad- 
vanced to  5s.,  3s.,  and  gallery  2s.,  and  no  half- 
time  price  allowed.  Evidently  the  "  raising  " 
had  its  effect  on  the  attendance,  for  Kean  played 
to  rather  sparse  audiences  on  the  first  three 
nights.  Thursday  night  found  a  crowded  house 
— the  fame  of  his  acting  had  spread.  With 
characteristic  caution,  the  Scots  **  gods  "  had 
decided  that  Kean  was  worth  *'  the  extra 
shilling."     The  effect  of  his  Othello  upon  the 


270  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

audience  was  electrical,  and  roused  them  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm.  Magnificent 
houses  followed  on  Friday  and  Saturday 
evening  to  witness  his  Sir  Giles  Overreach  and 
King  Lear. 

Theatre-goers  who  lately  have  witnessed  in 
the  Revues  the  novelty  of  actors  and  actresses 
acting  from  the  auditorium  will  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  Ryder's  company  produced  a  comic 
interlude  before  the  curtain,  in  October,  1822, 
when  the  lessee  took  the  part  of  the  manager 
and  the  characters  appearing  in  the  **  house  " 
included  Sir  Geoffrey  Lounge  (a  gent  in  the 
boxes),  Terence  O'Bog  (an  Irishman  in  the  pit), 
Sandy  M*Craw  (a  Scotchman  in  the  gallery), 
and  Joe  Clod  (fra'  Yorkshire,  also  in  the 
gallery). 

Hitherto,  Rob  Roy  was  regarded  as  having 
only  three  principal  r61es.  It  was  left  to  the 
famous  Miss  Stephens  and  Mr.  Leoni  Lee  to 
make  Diana  Vernon  and  Francis  Osbaldistone 
outstanding  parts,  and  place  the  famous  solos 
and  duets  in  their  right  relationship  with  the 
play.  According  to  the  reports  of  the  audience 
of  that  date,  the  encomiums  passed  upon  the 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    271 

singing  of  these  two  were  exceptionally 
laudatory.  The  Perthshire  County  families 
made  the  occasion  of  Stephens-Lee  visit  quite 
an  '*  Opera  "  function.  Love  in  a  Village  and 
The  Beggar's  Opera  were  produced,  and  Miss 
Stephens  scored  a  distinct  success  also  in  Guy 
Mannering. 

The  appearance  of  the  Edinburgh  Caledonian 
Theatre  company  proved  the  beginning  of  the 
end  of  Ryder's  connection  with  Perth,  for  a  year 
or  two.  An  excellent  round  of  plays  was  given, 
including  the  new  drama,  George  Heriot,  or 
The  Fortunes  of  Nigel.  One  critic  condemned 
this  piece  because  **  no  sooner  did  one  character 
appear  and  make  himself  known  than  he  was 
withdrawn  to  allow  of  another  to  come  on  the 
stage."  Bothwell  Brig  proved  the  favourite  play 
during  the  Perth  Race  Week,  and  threatened 
temporarily  to  out -rival  Rob  Roy.  During  the 
theatrical  recess,  Catalini,  the  famous  Italian! 
vocalist,  appeared  at  the  Royal  before  large  but 
select  audiences — the  admission  was  half-a- 
guinea.  Ryder  gave  his  farewell  night  to  Perth 
on  December  25th,  1824,  and  how  keenly  his 


272  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

old  friends  felt  his  forsaking  of  them  is  evinced 
by  a  local  historian:  — 

*'  Mr.  Ryder  opened  the  New  Theatre  in 
the  close  of  1820  and  succeeded  amazingly. 
for  five  years.  But  success  made  him 
ambitious,  and,  leasing  the  Caledonian 
Theatre  (formerly  Corri's  Rooms)  of  Edin- 
burgh, in  opposition  to  the  Theatre  Royal, 
he  found  it  a  ruinous  speculation  from  which 
he  never  recovered." 

The  next  tenants  of  the  Theatre  Royal  came 
in  the  persons  of  Jones,  and  Mackay — the 
famous  Bailie — who  performed  on  the  opening 
night.  In  the  language  of  our  informant,  the 
theatre  was  "  opened  with  gas,"  thus  displacing 
wax,  as  wax  had  previously  displaced  oil  for 
lighting  purposes.  The  company  of  Edinburgh 
comedians  started  operations  on  22nd  August, 
1825,  with  Laugh  When  You  Can  and  Raising 
the  Wind,  titles  which  bore  significant  mean- 
ings. As  most  of  the  players  were  Perth 
favourites,  good  business  was  the  order  of  the 
day,  and  an  additional  attraction  was  the  revival 
of  the  old  **  half-time  "  arrangements.  Among 
the  pieces  staged  by  Jones  and  Mackay  were 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    273 

Mary  Stuart  (founded  on  The  Abbot)  and 
Waver  ley,  the  latter  a  failure.  Jones  opened 
up  his  second  season  single-handed  in  August, 
1826,  and  brought  most  of  the  leading  per- 
formers from  the  Edinburgh  Theatre  Royal, 
including  Mrs.  Stanley  as  leading  lady  and 
Stanley  as  his  leading  comedian.  Terry  starred 
in  The  Devil  and  Dr.  Faustus,  and,  for  an 
Englishman,  he  tried  the  doubtful  experiment 
of  playing  the  Bailie  in  Rob  Roy,  although  it 
is  satisfactory  to  hear  that  he  was  *'  no'  bad 
for  an  Englishman."  Cramond  Brig  proved  a 
favourite,  with  Pritchard  as  an  ideal  James  VI. ; 
and  Miss  Murray,  as  Marion  Howe,  *'  scored 
heavily."  The  famous  Miss  Noel,  the  vocalist, 
from  Drury  Lane  and  Covent  Garden,  gained 
high  praise  in  such  parts  as  Rosetta,  Rosina, 
Amcetta,  and  Diana  Vernon.  The  Gowrie 
Conspiracy,  a  new  play  of  local  import,  was 
produced  by  Jones,  who  closed  a  highly  success- 
ful season  on  the  7th  October  with  a  perform- 
ance of  The  School  for  Scandal,  in  which  he 
had  secured  the  special  services  of  Mrs.  Henry 
Siddons  as  Lady  Teazle.  At  the  end  of  this 
third  season,  Jones  announced  in  his  valedictory 


274  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

speech  that  he  had  rehnquished  his  manage- 
ment for  two  reasons — the  unfavourable  period 
of  the  season  at  which  only  he  could  visit  Perth 
— ^and  the  fact  that  he  could  not  imdertake  the 
financial  responsibility  of  attracting  London 
"stars." 

Mr.  C.  Bass,  of  the  Dundee  Theatre,  next 
took  up  the  reins  of  management,  and  remem- 
bering the  theatrical  proverb,  **  when  in  doubt 
play  Rob  Roy"  his  inaugural  performance  con- 
sisted of  Perth's  favourite  piece,  in  which  he 
was  successful  in  obtaining  the  assistance  of 
Mackay.  Bass  himself  played  the  outlaw,  and 
Mrs.  Bass,  Diana  Vernon.  An  enthusiastic  and 
crowded  audience  gave  a  splendid  start-off  for 
the  season,  and  as  the  lessee  had  engaged  a 
carefully  selected  stock  company,  which  in- 
cluded Pritchard,  an  old  favourite,  the  Misses 
Julia,  Mrs.  Nicol,  Mrs.  Power,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Tyrer,  Taylor,  and  a  fairly  large  and  capable 
orchestra,  success  was  assured.  The  last  pre- 
caution was  necessary,  as  the  stock  companies 
were  now  supposed  to  add  opera  to  their 
repertoire,  and  the  current  craze  for  melodrama 
also    demanded    a    good    deal    of    incidental 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    275 

*'  fiddling."  When  Bass  re-opened  in  the 
following  January,  he  chose  Macbeth,  giving  a 
good,  sound  interpretation  of  the  part.  The 
incidental  music  to  Macbeth  had,  it  was  said, 
never  been  so  finely  rendered  in  the  town. 

Succeeding  programmes  during  the  next  few 
months  were  devoted  to  the  ordinary  "  mixture 
as  before  "  of  drama,  melodrama,  farce,  and 
the  houses  were  accordingly  thin.  To  make 
matters  worse,  a  private  house,  known  as  the 
Minor  Theatre,  was  doing  business  in  a 
dilapidated  building  in  Canal  Street,  and  helped 
to  take  away  some  of  the  playgoers  who  affected 
this  '*  penny  gaff."  Its  career  was  summarily 
ended  by  a  police-court  prosecution,  which 
saw  the  last  of  the  *'  Barn  Stormers."  Still, 
theatrical  business  was  generally  very  bad 
throughout  the  kingdom  in  1828,  and  Bass  had 
his  fair  share,  poor  as  that  was.  In  March  the 
actor-manager  secured  Vandenhoff  for  a  four- 
night  engagement  in  Coriolanus,  Othello, 
Macbeth,  and  Hamlet.  Coriolanus  was  re- 
garded as  Vandenhoff's  masterpiece,  but  he 
played  only  to  indifferent  audiences  in  Perth. 
A  month  later,  T.    P.   Cooke  came  along  to 


276  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

present  his  nautical  dramas,  and  his  opening 
audience  consisted  of  **  fifteen  people,  in  the 
pit."  It  was  on  23rd  September  that  Bass 
had  the  honour  of  producing  his  version  of 
The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  five  months  after  the 
London  publication  of  Scott's  novel.  An  over- 
flowing audience  applauded  the  drama,  and  the 
piece  ran  for  nine  nights.  Scott's  then  recent 
drama.  The  Two  Drovers,  was  staged  during 
the  Hunt  Race  Week. 

When  Bass  re-opened  the  Theatre  Royal  in 
February,  1829,  he  decided  to  give  the  citizens 
an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  "  stars  "  he  had 
brought  to  his  Dundee  house.  These  included 
Mademoiselle  Rosier,  the  London  danseuse,  and 
Amherst,  the  pantomimist,  from  Covent  Garden, 
in  The  Dumb  Girl  of  Genoa,  a  piece  revived  in 
1 91 6  for  film- work  under  the  name  of  The 
Dumb  Girl  of  Portico,  with  Mme.  Pavlova  in 
the  name-part.  About  this  time  Bass  gave 
Perth  a  rest  from  his  labours — his  seasons  be- 
came less  frequent — the  Caledonian  Theatre, 
Edinburgh,  was  occupying  his  attention.  In 
January,  1830,  he  brought  the  London  actress, 
Miss    Jarman,    to    Perth,    and    arranged    her 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    277 

appearance  in  Romeo  and  Juliet  and  The 
Soldier's  Daughter.  Vandenhoff  was  another 
visitor;  and  in  February  the  celebrated  Braham 
performed  for  three  nights  in  The  Devil's 
Bridge,  Duenna,  and  The  Waterman.  The 
audiences  were  only  moderate — advanced  prices 
and  the  evangelical  revival  were  put  down  as  the 
reason  why,  but  the  most  probable  cause  seemed 
to  be  the  poor  quality  of  the  stock  players.  At 
any  rate,  Bass  now  dropped  his  tenancy. 
Hooper's  Touring  Company  is  recorded  as 
occupying  the  boards  of  the  Royal  for  a  week, 
in  comedy  and  musical  farce,  but  we  cannot 
trace  what  they  performed. 

Mr.  Jones,  courageous  as  ever,  gave  Perth 
another  trial,  opening  up  with  an  excellent 
company,  who  appeared  in  Wild  Oats  on  2nd 
July,  1830.  It  may  here  be  noted  that  Perth 
was  evidently  regarded  by  the  Edinburgh 
managers  as  a  stop-gap,  otherwise  they  would 
hardly  have  chosen  the  theatrical  dog-days  in 
which  to  run  a  normal  season.  It  speaks 
volumes  for  the  theatrical  enthusiasm  of  Perth 
playgoers  that  in  the  hottest  days  of  the  year 
they  were  prepared  to  support  the  Drama.     To 


278  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

Manager  Jones  remains  the  credit  of  giving 
John  Wilson,  the  great  Scottish  tenor,  the 
opportunity  to  qualify  himself  for  his  future 
operatic  work.  Wilson,  from  a  position  at  the 
composing  case  in  a  printer's  office,  by  dint  of 
hard  work,  had  been  able  to  secure  the 
precentor's  post  at  St.  Mary's  Parish  Church, 
Edinburgh .  Then  he  decided  to  devote  himself 
to  the  stage,  and,  having  met  with  success  in 
the  first  performance  of  Guy  Mannering,  he 
decided  that  the  best  way  to  qualify  himself 
for  the  position  of  operatic  star  was  to  undergo 
the  excellent  histrionic  training  that  could  be, 
obtained  in  the  repertoire  of  a  stock  company. 
His  subsequent  success  in  London  and  the 
English  provinces  proved  the  wisdom  of  his 
judgment,  although  it  cannot  be  said  that  he 
was  ever  a  notable  actor.  Still,  his  patient 
study  of  acting  and  singing  finally  gained  for 
him  the  reputation  of  being  the  greatest  vocalist 
that  Scotland  had  given  to  the  stage  for  fifty 
years.  In  fine,  he  was  the  Durward  Lely  of 
his  day.  The  audiences  were  pretty  sparse  at 
the  opening  nights  of  the  Jones  Stock  Company 
shows.     But  soon  the  fame  of  Wilson's  singing 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    279 

brought  the  crowds  along,  and,  as  Jones  had 
also  engaged  that  excellent  vocalist,  Miss 
Tunstall,  there  was  a  double  reason  for  play- 
going.  Jones  himself  will  chiefly  be  remem- 
bered for  his  exquisite  performance  of  Lord 
Ogleby  in  The  Clandestine  Marriage,  in  which 
part  the  London  press  said  he  challenged  com- 
parison with  Farren.  Romeo  and  Juliet  and 
The  Beggar's  Opera  gave  Wilson  a  chance  of 
appearing  in  standard  parts,  in  which  he 
acquitted  himself  admirably.  It  was  on  12th 
September,  1830,  that  John  Wilson  chose  to 
give  his  '*  extra  "  benefit  and  say  farewell  to 
Perth  Theatre  Royal,  where  he  had  submitted 
himself  to  so  strenuous  an  apprenticeship.  In 
The  Devil's  Bridge  he  took  the  part  of  Count 
Belino,  followed  by  the  farce,  Matrimony,  and 
the  musical  sketch,  The  Festival  of  Apollo. 
The  tenors  of  that  day  were  decidedly  more 
Trojan  than  the  contemporary  product.  Here 
are  a  few  of  the  songs  sung  at  his  benefit: 
solo  from  Weber's  Der  Frelschutz,  **  The 
Picture  Songs,"  **  The  Flowers  of  the  Forest," 
**  The  Minstrel  Boy,"  duet  in  Berl  a  mo  tuttl 
iro,  and  **  The  Bay  of  Biscay,"  in  addition  to 


280  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

his  sustaining  principal  solos  in  the  three  plays 
mentioned. 

With  the  year  1830,  the  passion  for 
theatricals  began  to  show  a  steady  decline. 
There  were  many  reasons  adduced  for  this,  the 
favourite,  among  others,  being  that  immemorial 
one,  the  decay  of  Drama.  As  this  complaint  is 
fairly  familiar  to  every  student  of  dramatic 
history,  recurring  as  it  does  every  thirty  or  odd 
years  in  the  critical  documents  of  dramatic 
literature  throughout  Europe,  it  would  be  futile 
work  to  examine  the  evidence.  The  more 
probable  reason  was  the  change  in  the  political 
outlook.  Perth,  like  other  Scottish  cities,  was 
beginning  to  feel  its  electoral  feet.  It  was  the 
period  of  gestation  prior  to  the  birth  of  the 
Reform  Bill  of  1832.  Perth  had  its  amateur 
politicians  too,  and  with  such  a  live  subject  as 
universal  suffrage  to  discuss  in  its  leisure  hours, 
it  would  be  unnatural  to  think  a  Scot  could  find 
much  to  interest  in  the  fustian  make-believe  of 
play-acting.  And  theatrical  managers  were 
beginning  to  find  that  the  Perth  folk  were 
"kittle  kattle  "  to  please.  Still,  Ryder  re- 
turned for  a  season  in  1830,  opening  up  during 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    281 

the  Race  Week,  when  he  introduced  his  son, 
Thomas  Ryder,  a  promising  comedian,  who 
played  Dougal  in  Rob  Roy.  During  their  stay, 
the  company  appeared  in  tragedy,  melodrama, 
and  comedy.  When  he  played  another  season, 
which  commenced  on  May  2nd,  183 1,  Ryder 
brought  over  a  strong  company  from  Aberdeen, 
and  chose  the  opera.  The  Marriage  of  Figaro, 
as  his  opening  item,  in  which  he  presented  the 
well-known  vocalist,  Miss  Estcourt  Wells,  who 
was  supported  by  several  other  promising 
singers,  in  addition  to  the  members  of  an 
excellent  stock  company.  The  operas  of  Guy 
Mannering  and  The  Duenna  were  also  sub- 
mitted, but,  despite  all  these  attractions  and  a 
quite  strong  selection  of  tragedies  and  dramas, 
the  houses  were  only  fair — and  not  even  *'  set 
fair."  In  October  of  the  year.  Crisp's  Touring 
Company  fulfilled  a  week's  engagement  at  the 
Theatre  Royal  in  the  successful  Adelphi  melo- 
drama, A  Wreck  on  Shore,  or  a  Bridegroom 
from  the  Sea. 

The  greatest  event  in  the  musical  history  of 
Perth  to  be  recorded  is  the  visit  of  Paganini  on 
8th  November,  1831,  when,  although  the  prices 
19 


282  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

had  been  raised  more  than  trebly  (boxes  and 
pit  7s.  6d.  and  gallery  3s.  6d.),  a  packed  house 
greeted  him  and  accorded  him  a  tumultuous 
reception.  The  following  year  was  that  of  the 
cholera  plague^  and,  save  for  an  occasional 
concert,  the  theatre  stood  empty,  and  there 
seemed  so  little  prospect  of  a  tenant  that  it  was 
proposed  to  sell  the  property,  one  gentleman 
making  an  offer  of  £800  for  a  building  which 
originally  cost  £3,000. 

Concerts  and  variety  entertainments  were  the 
only  and  irregular  bookings  at  the  Royal  during 
the  succeeding  years,  one  quaint  programme 
announcing  **  Guiseppe  Pariss  from  Regent 
Street,  London,"  with  his  *'  Industrious  Living 
Fleas,"  shewing  what  "  educated  fleas  "  could 
do. 

Old  circus-goers  will  note  with  interest  that 
Cooke's  Royal  Circus,  in  April  of  1836, 
occupied  an  amphitheatre  of  ninety  square  feet, 
capable  of  accommodating  1,500  persons,  at 
the  south  end  of  North  Inch,  and  did  very  good 
business  during  its  two  months'  stay,  presenting, 
among  pieces,  characters,  and  sketches,  Alex- 
ander  the    Great,    Falstaff,    Shylock   the   Jew, 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    283 

Richard  III.,  Doncaster  in  miniature,  etc. 
Wombwell's  Grand  National  Menagerie  and 
"  greatest  show  on  earth  "  paid  Perth  a  week's 
visit,  but  the  announcement  read  that  it  was 
**  the  last  time  the  menagerie  "  would  visit  the 
north  of  Scotland,  as  it  could  not  travel  twenty, 
miles  without  paying  at  least  £io  for  toll 
money,  owing  to  the  number  of  horses  and 
waggons  carried. 

It  was  not  till  27th  September,  1836,  that 
Ryder  found  courage  to  try  Perth  again,  and 
when  he  did  it  was  to  re -open  in  Rob  Roy  for 
the  551st  time.  After  a  few  weeks  of  playing, 
he  reduced  his  prices,  and  in  this  way  secured 
ample  audiences.  It  was  on  November  18, 
1836,  that  he  announced  his  own  benefit  and 
last  appearance  in  Perth  in  Rob  Roy,  when  he 
was  accorded  a  tremendous  reception.  To 
finish  his  Perth  season  with  eclat,  G.  V.  Brooke 
was  engaged,  and  the  young  tragedian  had 
the  special  support  of  Mrs.  Newcombe,  late 
leading  actress  at  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  Edin- 
burgh. On  this  occasion  he  appeared  in 
Hamlet,  The  Honeymoon,  and  William  Tell. 

Young     Ryder    opened     the     Theatre     the 


284  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

fiollowing  year  under  his  father's  management, 
introducing  Sinclair,  the  well-known  vocalist, 
as  a  '*  star,"  in  The  Bogle  of  the  Clyde,  or  The 
Bailie  Bewitched.  The  repertoire  was  wide  in 
scope  and  included  Shakespearean  tragedy, 
drama,  farce,  and  pantomime,  a  special  feature 
being  its  generous  supply  of  Scottish  drama. 

When  Sheridan  Knowles  and  Miss  Elphin- 
stone  were  announced  for  a  six  nights'  engage- 
ment, to  commence  i8th  April,  1839,  ^^^Y  had 
prepared  a  programme  which  included  the  new 
five- act  play.  The  Maid  Mariendorff ,  The  Love 
Chase,  The  Hunchback,  Woman's  Wit,  The 
Wrecker's  Daughter,  and  William  Tell.  But 
although  the  performers  in  both  cases  bore  high 
reputations,  and  it  was  considered  that  a  greater 
dramatic  treat  had  never  been  offered  to  Perth, 
the  houses  were  not  such  as  to  encourage  Ryder 
to  incur  further  expensive  engagements.  It 
was  urged,  however,  that  this  was  hardly  a  fair 
test  of  the  strength  of  Perth's  playgoing  en- 
thusiasm, as  the  visit  of  the  Circuit  Court  had; 
provided  a  large  proportion  of  the  usual  play- 
goers with  a  better  thrill,  in  the  form  of  criminal 
trials  which  often  lasted  well  on  into  the  night. 


PERTH  DRAMATIC  RECORDS.    285 

In  the  years  that  followed,  Perth  seems  to, 
have  turned  its  attention  to  music,  for  lack  of 
a  sufficiency  of  dramatic  talent  upon  which  to 
exercise  its  taste.  Young  Ryder  seems  to  have 
thought  that  Perth  was  only  worth  risking 
financially  for  short  seasons,  and  these  he  timed, 
during  the  next  few  years,  to  start  during  the 
Perth  Race  Week. 

After  noting  a  visit  from  the  African  Roscius, 
Ira  Aldridge,  in  1840,  the  re-appearance  and 
farewell  visit  to  Perth  of  Henry  Johnston  in 
1 84 1,  there  remains  only  to  record  a  six-night 
visit  by  G.  V.  Brooke  in  his  repertoire.  The 
great  Braham,  now  getting  on  in  years,  had 
strengthened  his  entertainment  with  the  in- 
clusion of  his  two  sons,  Charles  and  Hamilton 
Braham,  and  Perth  was  not  slow  to  give  thejm 
a  rousing  welcome  when  the  family  party  came 
to  the  Theatre  Royal  on  i6th  March,  1844. 
More  and  more  the  musical  enthusiasts  found 
the  theatre  unfitted  for  concert  work,  and  it  was 
in  1845  steps  were  taken  to  erect  the  City  Hall. 
So  with  the  mention  of  the  appearance  of  she. 
whom  Perth  folks  regarded  as  **  the  greatest 
dramatic    female    star    that    ever    walked    the 


286  THE  SCOTS  STAGE 

boards  of  Perth/'  this  brief  summary  must  end. 
Helen  Faucit  was  engaged  in  May,  1845,  ^^^ 
played  to  crowded  houses  during  her  short  visit, 
when  she  appeared  in  The  Lady  of  Lyons, 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  Otway's  Belvidere,  and  The 
Hunchback. 

In  view  of  the  statement  with  which  this 
chapter  opened,  why,  it  may  be  asked,  did 
Perth  fall  so  badly  from  dramatic  grace?  The 
answer  is  simple.  The  playgoing  instinct  grows 
by  what  it  feeds  on.  If  you  try  to  nurture  it 
upon  scraps  administered  at  irregular  intervals, 
the  result  will  be  the  same  as  that  in  the  human 
frame.  It  will  dwindle  away  for  lack  of  a 
sufficiency  of  nourishemnt.  This  is  what 
happened  to  Perth,  and  had  happened  to  so 
many  other  cities.  With  which  moral,  as  all 
good  Scottish  books  should  have  a  moral,  this 
volimie  must  end. 


\ 


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Records  of  the  Aberdeen  Kirk  Sessions. 
Sketches  of  Early  Scottish  History. 
Weldon's  Secret  History  of  Scotland.    Maitland  Club. 
The  County  History  of  Scotland.    Edin.,  1896. 
The  Chronicle  of  Picts  and  Scots  and  Early  Scottish 

Memorials.    By  W.  F.  Skene. 
Ancient  Scots  Poems.    1786. 
Scottish  Church  History.    Walker. 
Scotland  as  It  Was  and  Is.     By  the  Duke  of  Argyll. 
Ancient  Mysteries  from  the  Digby  MSS.     Preserved 

in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford.     Edited  by  T. 

Sharpe.    Abbotsford  Club.     1835. 
Nodes  Haudckianm;  or,  Ye  Drama  on  ye  Borders, 

being  ye  Feates  and  Adventures  of  a  Dramatic 

Company.    1840. 


292  THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 

A  History  of  Dumfries  and  Galloway.    By  Sir  Herbert 

Maxwell,  Bart.,  M.P.     1896. 
'Acts  and  Proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 

Kirk    of    Scotland    from    the    year    1560-1618. 

Bannatyne  Club,  Edinburgh.     1839. 
Burns'  History  of  Parish  Registers. 
Extracts  frotn  the  Kirk  Session  Books  of  Glasgow. 

Edin.,  1829. 
The  Siege  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  1689.    Banna- 
tyne Club.     Edin.,  1828. 
Annals  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of 

Scotland.     Published  1838. 
Diary  of  Public  Transactions,  etc.,  in  Scotland,  1650- 

1667.    John  NicoU.     Edin.,  1836. 
Miscellany  of  the  Scottish  History  Society.     Edin., 

1893. 
History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland.     By  David  Calder- 

wood.    8  vols.     Edin.,  1842-9. 


INDEX 


Abbot      and      Prior      of      Bon- 
Accord,  40,  46,  47,  49,  51. 
Abbot  of  Unreason,  24,  30,  74. 
Aberdeen,    15,    23,    39-62,    111, 

156,  172. 
Theatre   Royal,    180, 

269,  281. 
Actor  hung  as  thief,  83. 
Actor's  ear  burned,  83. 
Acts  of  General  Assembly,   34, 

78,  81,  82,  83,  85,  122. 
Acts  of  Parliament,  73,  80,  112, 

130. 
Adam's  Company,  181. 
Addison,   Laura,   actress,  239. 
Adelphi     Theatre,     Edinburgh, 

137,  146,  148,  283. 
Adelphi  Theatre,  Glasgow,  234, 

238,  241,  242. 
Advocates'  Library,  17. 
African,  The,  254. 
Agis,  117,  128. 
Aitken,  Francis,  lessee,  203,  211, 

214. 
Aitken,  James,  actor,  225. 
Aladdin,  229. 
Aldridge  Family,  180. 
Aldridge,      Ira,      the      African 

Roscius,    176,   285. 
Alexander,  J.  H.,  226,  227,  231, 

232,  236,  237,  239,  240. 
Alexander  III.,  13. 
Alexandre,     M.,     ventriloquist, 

171. 


Alsop,  Mrs.,  actress,  262. 
Alston  Street  Theatre,  Glasgow, 

194,  195. 
Amherst,  pantomimist,  276. 
Analecta  Scotica,  52. 
Anderson,  Professor,  Wizard  of 

the  North,  181,  234,  240,  241. 
Antiquary ,  The,  152,  268. 
Arbroath,  152,  153,  154,  155. 
Archcelogica  Scotica,  98. 
Archery,  21,  91,  101. 
Armstrong,  Archie,  king's  fool, 

35. 
Arnot,  Hugh,  187. 
Aston,   Anthony,    103,   107,    108, 

191. 
Aston 's  Theatre,  104. 
As  You  Like  It,  234,  236,  256, 

260. 
Atkins,     Miss,     actress     (Mrs. 

Macready),  264,  265. 


Bailey,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  161. 
Baillie,  Joanna,  142. 
Balls,  96,  97,  190. 
Banks,   equestrian,   87. 
Bannatyne  Club,  78. 
Bannister,  Jack,  204,  210. 
Barbour,  Archdeacon  John,  14, 

15. 
Bard,  Office  of,  14,  22. 
Barnwell,  George,   160,  248. 
Barrett,  Wilson,  155. 


294 


THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


Barry,  "silver-toned,"  127,  133. 

Barry,  Shell,  155. 

Bass,  C,  manager,  146,  172,  173, 

174,  175,  274,  275,  276,  277. 
Bateman,  Isabel,  155. 
Battle  of  Inch,  The,  227. 
Baynham,  G.  W.,  209,  210,  231. 
Beatt  and  Love,  managers,  194, 

195,  196,  197,  198. 
Beaufort,  Jane,  18. 
Beaumont      (of      Dundee      and 

Perth),  164,  251. 
Bedford,   Paul,    149. 
Beggar's   Opera,   The,   108,   109, 

110,    160,    191,   252,   255,   271, 

279. 
Belcher,  prize-fighter,  165. 
Bell,    Master    David,    thirteen- 
year-old  prodigy,  174. 
Bellamy,  George  Anne,  56,  113, 

133,  193,  194,  195,  196,  197. 
Bell's  Wynd  Assembly,  101. 
Belvidere,  Otway's,  286. 
Belzoni,  strong  man,  254,  256. 
Bertram,  a  tragedy,  259. 
Bertram,  Henry,  vocalist,  171. 
Betty,  Master,  141,  204,  206. 
Birch's  Diary,  Robert,  87. 
Birrell's  Diary,  78. 
Bishop's  Palace,   193. 
Black  Bull  Inn,  196,  197,  210. 
Bland,  actor,  132,   133. 
Blind  Bargain,  The,  252. 
Blind  Harry,  16. 
Blude,  The  Haly,  23,  41. 
Bogle  of  the  Clyde,  The,  284. 
Bohemian  Girl,  The,  241. 
Bon- Accord  Day,  52. 
Bon-Accord,  origin  of  word,  40. 
Bon-Accord,  Lords  of,  52. 
Book  of  Bon- Accord,  49,  61. 
Book  of  Universal  Kirk,  31. 
Booth,   actor,   262. 
Booth,  Miss  S.,  actress,  172. 
Border  Ballad,  12. 
Bothwell  Brig,  271. 
Bower,  Walter,  13. 


Boy  Bishop,  24. 

Boyd,    Frank,    author    of    The 

Dundee  Stage,  161. 
Brahara,  174,  *210,  230,  277,  285. 
Brooke,  G.  V.,  60,  149,  177,  178, 

232,  283,  285. 
Bride     of     Lammermoor,     The, 

231. 
Brunne,  Robert  de,  12. 
Brut,  The,  15. 
Brutus:  or  The  Fall  of  Tarquin, 

219,  221,  267. 
Buffoons,  22. 

Burbage,  Richard,  59,  156. 
Burns'  "Holy  Fair,"  140. 
Burrell's    Close,    Glasgow,    191, 

192. 
Burroughs,  W.,  lessee,  175. 


Calcraft,  tragedian,  170. 
Calderwood,  historian,  80. 
Caledonian  Theatre,  Edinburgh, 

146,  171,  271,  272,  276. 
Caledonian     Theatre,     Glasgow, 

226. 
Calvert,     lessee     of     Hibernian 

Theatre,  60,  170,  242,  243. 
Campbell,    Thomas,    the    poet, 

135,  206. 
Candlemas   Day,   mvstery   play, 

41. 
Canongate  Theatre,  54,  103,  113, 

116,    117,   124,   125,   129,    130, 

131    133 
Cape  Club",  The,  128. 
Carls,  246. 
Carlyle,  Reverend  Dr.,  118,  124, 

125. 
CaiTuber's   Close    Theatre,    108, 

112,  120. 
Castle  of  Andalusia,  The,  opera, 

252. 
Catalini,  vocalist,  210,  271. 
Cato,  248,  257. 
Celeste,  Madame,   149. 


INDEX. 


295 


Censors,  81. 
Chalmers.  Dr.,  225. 
Charles  I.,  92,  248. 
Charles  the  First,  138. 
Cheats  of  Seapin,  103. 
Cherry  and  Fair  Star,  241. 
Chevallier,      Madame,      dancer, 

176. 
Child  of  Nature,  257. 
Chippendale,  154,  170. 
Christis  Kirk  on  the  Green,  19. 
Cinderella,  238,  252. 
Circus,  The,  Edinburgh,  59,  137, 

138. 
Citizen,  The,  197,  254. 
City  Theatre,  Glasgow,  241,  242. 
Clandestine  Husband,  The,  268. 
Clandestine  Marriage,  The,  279. 
Coachy's    Playhouse,    Aberdeen, 

57. 
Colman,  the  younger,  61. 
Command    Performance,    Edin- 
burgh, 145. 
Commissary,  The,  132. 
Comflaynt  of  the  Pafingo,  29. 
Comflaynt  of  Scotland,  64. 
Concert,  evasion,  121. 
Conversion  of  Saul  41. 
Cooke,    George    Frederick,    210, 

214,  215,  216,  261. 
Cooke,  T.  P.,  60,  173,  231,  275. 
Cooke's  Royal  Circus,  242,  282. 
Coriolanus,   170,   264,   275. 
Corpus  Christi  Play,  46,  246. 
Corri,  Italian  actor,  138. 
Corri's  Rooms,  142,  145,  272. 
Covent  Garden,  128,  143. 
Cramond  Brig,  150,  231,  273. 
Crisp,    Mr.    and   Mrs.,    players, 

177. 
Critic,  The,  267. 
Cronykil      of      Scotland,      An 

Orygnale,  16. 
Crook,     manager    of    Paniheon 

Company,  170. 
Cuk-stool,  30,  74. 
Cupar,  25,  69. 


Cunningham's  History  of  Scot- 
land, 125. 
Cure  for  the  Heartache,  A,  255. 


D. 

Dah-,  Irish  comedian,  177,  178. 
Dancers,   22,  69,   191. 
Dancing,  64,  91,  99,  101,  189. 
Dancing  Masters,   96,   189,   190, 

192. 
Davidsone,  John,  dramatist,  32. 
Deacon  Brodie,   128. 
Der  Freischutz,  228,  242,  279. 
Deserter  of  Naples,  The,  252. 
Devil    a7id    Dr.    Faustus,    The, 

273. 
Devil  to  Pay,  The,  111,  157. 
Devil's  Bridge,  The,  277,  279. 
Dibdin,  James  C,  102. 
Digges,  West,  55,  56,  113,   117, 

132,  133,   193,  198. 
Dionysius  the  Tyrant,  25,  156. 
Do  You  Ever  Take  Tour  Wife? 

180. 
Dog  Drama,   179. 
"  Dominion  of  Fancy,  The,"  226. 
Dominique,  acrobat,  192,  193. 
Don  Giovanni,  223. 
Don  Quixot  in  England,  160. 
Donaldson's  Recollections  of  an 

Actor,  137. 
Douglas,  56,  116,  117,  125,  126, 

127,  135,  136,  141,  204,  255. 
Douglas,  Gavin,  20. 
Dowton,  actor,  165,  170,  210. 
Drama,   Essay  on  The,   Scott's, 

70. 
Dromedary,  94,  128. 
Drummond  of  Havrthornden,  91, 

92. 
Dryden,  98. 

Ducrow,  Andrew,  230,  232. 
Ducrow's    Arena,    Hope    Street, 

Glasgow,  232. 
Duenna,  The,  174,  277,  281. 
Duke  of  Hamilton,  The,  136. 


296 


THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


Duke  of  York's  Company,  98. 
Dumb  Girl  of  Genoa,  The,  276. 
Dumfries  Theatre,  164,  178. 
Dunbar,  William,  19,  50,  51,  67, 

68. 
Duncan,  Miss,  comedienne,  168, 

202,  203,  213. 
Dundee,   39,   58,   111,   154,    155, 

157,  177. 
Royal  Victoria  Theatre, 

181. 


Theatre    Royal,     165, 

171,  172,  174,  178,  179,  181. 

Dundee,  Thistle  Hall,  176,  177. 

Dunfermline,  31,  81. 

Dunlop  Street  Theatre,  Glas- 
gow, 199,  200,  201,  229,  231, 
236. 

Dunsmore,  Mrs.,  actress,  182. 

Dwarf,  269. 


E. 

Edinburgh,  32,  39,  55,  58,  157, 

160. 
Edinburgh  actors,  54,  250,  251, 

257. 
Edinburgh,  Theatre  Royal,  128, 

129,    130,    133,   138,    141,   142, 

144,  147,  148,  149,  272,  273. 
Edinburgh      Theatrical      Fund, 

147. 
Edinburgh    Town    Council,    29, 

104,  108. 
Elders  at  May  plays,  83. 
Ellendeu,   dramatist  and   actor, 

179,  182. 
Elliston,  210. 
Elphinstone,  Miss,  actress,  176, 

284. 
Emery,  actor,   142,  210, 
English  comedians,  67,  88,  109. 
Erskine,  107. 

Essay  on  Romance,  Scott's,  10. 
Essay  on  The  Drama,  70. 
Esten,  Mrs.,  actress,  137. 
Eurc,  Sir  William,  70. 


F. 

Fairport  Theatre,  152. 
Fairfort   from    the    Footlights, 

152. 
Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  276. 
Fair  Penitent,  The,  217. 
Falkirk,  The  Battle  of,  147. 
Farces,  53,  73. 
Farren,  Miss,  actress,  202,  203, 

210. 
Faucit,  Mrs.,  171. 
Faucit,  Helen,  60,  148,  149,  179, 

181,  236,  237,  286. 
Fawcett.    comedian,    210,    251, 

252. 
Feast  of  Asses,  The,  23. 
Feast  of  Innocents,  The,  23. 
Ferguson,  Dr.   Adam,   123. 
FUes-des-fouiie,  23. 
Fiddlers,  66,  77. 
Fife,  Chronicle  of,  94. 
First  licensed  theatre,  130. 
Fisher,    Clara,    infant    prodigy, 

169. 
Fitzwilliam,  Mrs.,  actress,  241. 
"  Fleas,     Industrious     Living," 

282. 
Fleay,  89. 

Fletcher,  Lawrence,  54,  89,  156. 
Flowers  of  the  Forest,  The,  241. 
Foote,    Samuel,    110,    111,    132, 

133. 
Forest  of  Bondy,  The,  259. 
Foundling,  The,  160. 
Foundling   of   the   Forest,   The, 

222. 
Fountauis'  Theatre,  97. 
Fountains,     The,     Masters     of 

Revels,  96,  97,  188. 
Eraser,  G.  M.,  Aberdeen,  40. 
Eraser,  Jessie,  actress,  60. 
Eraser,  John,  lessee,  60. 
Freemasons,  111,  112,  157. 
Frimbley,  low  comedian,  172. 
Fortune's  Frolic,  farce,  166. 
Forty  Thieves,  The,  267. 


INDEX. 


297 


Gallery  boys,  56. 
Gamester,  The,  135. 
Garden  Neuk  Well,  The,  54. 
Garrick,  117,   127,  128. 
Gas,  Introduction  of,  222. 
General  Assembly,  31,  35. 
General     Assembly     and     Mrs. 

Siddons,  127. 
George  I.,  102. 
George  II.,  120. 
George  III.,  130. 
George  IV.,  144. 
George  Heriot  (The  Fortunes  of 

Nigel),  271. 
Giants,  269. 
Gil  Bias,  252. 
Gilderoy,  231. 

Glasgow,  39,  58,  94,  108,  183. 
Glasgow  Fair,  234,  241. 
Glover,  Edmund,  133,  149.  155, 

180,  236,  237. 
Glover's    Hall    Theatre,    Perth. 

250,  251,  253. 
Glover,  Mrs.,   comedienne,   210, 

254. 
GouflFe,  the  man-monkey,  178. 
Gourlay,  comedian,  177. 
Gow,  Neil,  255. 
Gowrie  Conspiracy,  The,  273. 
Granier,    Mons.    and    Madame, 

193. 
Grant,  James,   128. 
Great  Gun  Trick,  234. 
Grecian  Daiigfiter,  The,  135. 
Grizzel  Jamfhray,  179. 
Guiglini,  149. 

Guild  Hall,   Perth,   249,   250. 
Guilds,  45,  46,  48,  51,  61,  76. 
Guisards,  20,  246. 
Guy  Mannering,  168,   171,   172, 

174,   231,   259,   266,   26Z,   271, 

278,  281. 

20 


H. 

Halland,  Miss,  vocalist,  171. 
Hallowe'en,     or     Vampire    and 

Water  Kelpie,  268. 
Hamilton,  of  Arbroath  Theatre, 

153. 
Hamlet,  110,  116,  169,  234,  256, 

257,  260,  266,  275,  283. 
Harlequin  in  Scotland,  The,  255. 
Harpers,  66. 

Harrington,   Sir  John,  36. 
Hartley,  Mrs.,  actress,  132. 
Heart  of  Midlothian,  The,  262. 
Heir  at  Law,  The,  252,  262. 
Heller,         Professor         "  Poses 

Plastiques,"  180. 
Henderson,  tragedian,  202. 
Henryson,  Robert,  19. 
High   Life   Below  Stairs,   Gar- 
rick's,  114. 
History    of    Scotland,    Patrick 

Henderson,  86. 
History   of    the   Five   Jameses, 

92. 
History  of  Arbroath,  Hay,  152. 
Holyrood,  69,  76. 
Home,  Rev.  John,  116,  117,  118, 

124,  126. 
Honeymoon,  The,  166,  211,  212, 

283. 
Horner's  Wynd,  153. 
Hume,  David,  118. 
Hunchback,  The,  224,  237,  284, 

286. 
Hypocrite,    The,    Bickerstaffe's, 

170. 


I. 

Inchbald,  Mrs.,  162,  205. 
Indian  Emperor,  Dryden's,  98. 
Inglis,  Sir  James,  29,  30. 
Innocents,  The  Feast  of,  23. 
Interlude,  25,  27. 
Irish  Players,  98. 
Irving,  Dr.  David,  14. 
Irving,  Edward,  112,  225. 


298 


THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


Irving,  Henry,  150,  lol. 

Isabella,  135. 

Italian  operatic  stars,  148. 

J. 
Jackson,  John,  55,  58,  138,  134, 

136,    162,    194,    199,  200,   201, 

202,  203,  207,  211,  213. 
James  I.,  18,  19,  64. 
James  II.,  64. 

James  IV.,   19,  30,  34,  66,  95. 
James  V.,  36,  69,  246. 
James  VI.,   37,   66,   83,   84,   88, 

89,  90,  247. 
James    VI.    recognises    players, 

86. 
Jane  Shore,  135,  143,  161,  204. 
Jarman,  Miss,  actress,  174,  231, 

276. 
Jealous    Wife,    The,    254,    259, 

266. 
Jesters,  68. 
Jewess,  The,  242. 
John  Bull,  214,  252. 
John  the  Baptist,  25,  155. 
Johnston,  W.,  actor,  234. 
Johnston,    Henry   Erskine,    139, 

142,   146,    165,   169,    175,    178, 

213,   217,   218,   222.  231,  257, 

259,  261,  285. 
Jones,  actor-manager.  272,  273, 

277,  278,  279. 
Jongleurs,  22. 
Jonson,  Ben,  91,  92. 
Jordan,  Mrs.,  133,  142,  202.  210. 
Jubilee,  The,  111,  157. 
Jugglers,  22,  88. 
Julius  Ccesar,  240,  260. 


K. 

Kean,  Charles,  175,  220,  233. 
Kean,    Edmund,    60,    143,    149, 

164,    165,   210,   218,   220,   230, 

231,  269. 
Kemble,  Charles,  143. 


Kemble,  John  Philip,  57,  179. 
Kemble,    John,    142,    165,    202, 

210,  225. 
Kemble,  Roger,  202. 
Kemble,    Stephen,    57,    58,    59, 

136,  137,  138,  166,  202. 
Kemble,     Mrs.     Stephen,     138, 

203. 
Kenilworth,  33. 
Kenilworth  Castle,  33. 
King  Arthur,  11. 
King,  actor,  202,  203. 
King  David,  14. 
King  David  II.,  16. 
King  Henry  IV.,  110,  112,  166, 

257,  260,  268. 
King  Henry  VIII.,  170,  268. 
King  Lear,  110,  153,  270. 
King  Robert  III.,  246. 
King's  Tragedy,  The,  18. 
Kingis  Quhair,  The,  18. 
Kinloch,  lessee,  225,  226. 
Kirk-Session  of  Edinburgh,  88. 
Kirk-Session  of  Glasgow,  185. 
Knovvles,    Sheridan,     176,    223, 

224,  225,  238,  284. 
Knox,  John,  32. 
Knyvett  Vaughan  and  Bellamy 

concert  party,   173. 


L. 

Lady  of  Lyons,  The,  236,  286. 
Lancashire,  Tom,  comedian,  128, 

159,  160. 
Laneham,  Robert,  33. 
Langley,  177,   178,  179,  180. 
Lara,  172. 
Lauder,     William,     playwright, 

73. 
Laugh  When  You  Can,  272. 
Leclercq  Family,  The,  238,  239. 
Lee,  Canougate  Theatre,  116. 
Lee,  Leoni,  singer,  270,  271. 
Lee,  Nathaniel,  98. 
Lees,   actor,   113. 
Legend,  The  Family.   I  1-. 


INDEX. 


299 


Leigh,  Mrs.,  actress,  178, 

Leith,  76. 

Lethe,  or  Msop  in  the  Shades, 

161. 
Lewes,  Lee,  actor,  138. 
Linlithgow,   25,   70. 
Liston,  comedian,  210,  229,  231, 
Little  John,  21,  30,  51,  52,  68, 

74,  246. 
Lloyd,   conjurer,   173. 
Lloyd,    F.    H.,    comedian,    148, 

178,  231,  234,  237,  238. 
Lord  of  Inobedience,  75. 
Lord  of  Misrule,  24,  246. 
Lord  of  The  Isles,  The,  262. 
Lotteries,  97. 
Love  Chase,  The,  284. 
Love  for  Love,  102. 
Love  in  a  Village,  255,  268,  271. 
Love's  Labour  Lost,  87. 
Lovers,  The  Conscious,  111. 
Lykewakes,  187. 
Lyndsay,  Sir  David,  25,  27,  29, 

'36,  69,  70,  85,  246. 
Lyon,  Tom,  actor,  238. 


M. 
M'Crie,  85. 

M'Glashan,  melodrama,  181. 
M'Gregor,  Mr.  and  Mrs,  182. 
M'Neill    and    Price,    Aberdeen, 

60. 
M'Roy,  actor -manager,   168. 
Macbeth,  101,  110,  136,  137,  156, 

169,   177,   197,   225,  226,   237, 

253,   256.   259,   260,   264,   265, 

267,  275. 
Mackenzie,  Henry,  141,  142. 
Mackay,  144,  154,  168,  170,  173, 

175,    176,   231,   238,   259,   260, 

266,  267,  272,  274. 
Macklin,  163. 

Maclaren,  A.,  playwright,  251. 
Macready,  60,  169,  177,  205,  210, 

215,  228,   224,   230,   237,  264, 

265,  266. 


Maid  Mariendorf,  The,  284. 
Man   of   the   World,    The,   214, 

235,  251. 
Marciano,  or  The  DUcovcry,  ^&. 
Mario,  149. 
Marischal    Street    Theatre,    57, 

60. 
Marocco,  performing  horse,  86. 
Marriage  of  Figaro,  The,  281. 
Mary  Magdalene,  41. 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  254. 
Mary  Stuart  (The  Abbot),  273. 
Masks  and  Faces,  149. 
Masquerading,   20. 
Masques,  36,  67,  77,  78,  96. 
Masters  of  Revels,  67,  96. 
Mathews,    the   elder,    143,    168, 

210. 
Mathews,  the  younger,  232. 
May  Games,  73,  91, 
May  Queen,  30,  73,  74,  82,  246. 
Meggett,  actor,  262. 
Melville's  Diary,  32,  88. 
Melville,   Viscount,   136. 
Melrose,   vocalist,   172. 
Mendoza,  prize-fighter,  165. 
Merchant  of  Venice,  The,  143, 

163,  172,  207,  230,  251,  257. 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  268. 
Miller,     D.      P.,     of     Adelphi 

Theatre,  234,  238, 
Minor,  The,  132, 
Minor  Theatre,  Perth,  275. 
Minstrels,  22,  67,  186. 
Miracle-plays,  40,  153. 
Mithridates,  King  of  Pontus,  98. 
Mock  Doctor,  The,  113,  159,  197. 
Montague's  Pastoral,  98. 
Montrose,  111,  113. 
Morality-plays,   24,   29,   31,   67, 

70,  153,  246. 
Morris  Dances,  91. 
Moss,  actor,  163,  164. 
Moss  and  Bell,  of  Dundee  and 

Perth   Theatres,    163,   251, 
Mourning  Bride,  The,  105,  135. 


300 


THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  203, 

237,  255. 
Mamford's  Geggie,  235,  23G. 
Munday,  Miss,  actress,  172. 
Munden,  actor,  210. 
Murray,  W.  H.,  actor-manager, 

142,   144,    147,   148,   160,   223, 

260. 
Music-hall  artists,  21. 
Music      taught      by      Council's 

decree,  186. 
Mystery-plavs,    22,    23,    24,    31, 

41,  44,  246. 

N. 
Napoleonic  Wars,  256. 
New  Inn  Theatre,  Aberdeen,  55. 
New  Theatre,  Arbroath,  153. 
Nicoll,  lawyer,  94,  95. 
Noel,    Miss,    vocalist,    147,    173, 

273 
Norval,  Young,  174,  205,  213. 
NugcB  Antique,  36. 

0. 

O'Neil,  Elizabeth,  143,  222. 

Ord's  Circus,  175. 

Orphan,  The,  103. 

Orphan    of    Geneva,    The,    146, 

268. 
Orthodox  Club,  The,  107. 
Othello,  110,  143,  176,  218,  219, 

231,  260,  269,  275. 

P. 

Paganini,  174,  281. 

Pageants,  35,  36,  45,  48,  19,  66, 

84,  92,  248. 
Panorama,   141,   268. 
Pantheon  Company,  The,  170. 
Pantheon,  The,  145. 
Pantomimes,   111,   176,   193. 
Passion-plays,  68. 
Pastoral  Play,  247. 
Paumier,    tragedian,    176,    237. 

239,  240. 


Paton,  Eliza,  actress,  175. 
Peblis  to  the  Play,  19,  64. 
Performing  horse,  86,  94. 
Perth  Theatre  Royal,   144,   173, 

263,   264,   266,   267,   269,   271, 

276,  279,  281,  285. 
Perth    Grammar     School,     248, 

253. 
Perth     Kirk-Sessions,    34,    246, 

248. 
Perth,  The  Drama  in,  246. 
Phelps,   Samuel,    175,   234,   235, 

239. 
Philotus,  78. 
Pipers,  66. 

Pitt,  CD.,  actor,  177. 
Pizarro,  259,  268. 
Players,   Strolling,   21.  22,   185, 

186,  191,  249. 
Playfield,  Aberdeen,  40,  54. 
Playfield,  Dundee,  156. 
Playhouse  Close,  113,  128. 
Playwright  burnt  at  stake,  68. 
Pocock,  Isaac,  adapter  of  Rob 

Roy,  260. 
Poet  Laureates,  16,  67. 
Pollock,    John,    actor-manager, 

60. 
Pollock,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  180. 
Pomp  of  the  Gods,  The,  78. 
Poor  Gentleman,  The,  252. 
Power,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  177. 
Power,  Tyrone,  170. 
Powrie,  Tom,  180,  237. 
Presbytery  of   Edinburgh,    102, 

104,  107,  108,  118,  119,  122. 
Presbytery  of  Dalkeith,  125. 

of  Dunsc,  122. 

of  lladdington,   12i. 


President  of  Fools,  24. 

Pretty  Girl  of  Dundee,  The,  164. 

Pritchard,  actor,  154,  172,  173, 

273,  274. 
Privy  Council,  96,  97,  99,  100. 
Provoked    Husband,    The,    147. 

254,  270. 
Prynne's  Histriomastix,  98. 


INDEX. 


301 


Queen  Elizabeth,  33,  87. 

Queen  Mary,  76. 

Queen  of  Sheba,  37. 

Queen  Street  Theatre,  Aber- 
deen, 66,  57. 

Queen  Street  Theatre,  Glasgow, 
208,  209,  210,  217,  225,  229. 

Queen's  Theatre  and  Opera 
House,  Edinburgh,  146. 

Queen's  Theatre,  Glasgow,  242. 

Queen's  Reception,  50. 

Quintuple  representation  of 
Richard  III.,  179. 


R. 

Raising  the  Wind,  212,  255,  272. 
Ramsay,    Allan,    103,    106,    107, 

111,   112,   113,   157,   158. 
Recruiting  0;fficer,  The,  159. 
Red  Parliament,  247. 
Reeves,  Sims,  241. 
Reform  Bill,  62,  280. 
Reformation,  The,  23,  68,  77,  85. 
Regent  Morton,  32. 
Renaud,  Mrs.,  tragedienne,  144, 

147. 
Revenge,  The,  218,  266. 
Revolution,  The,  100. 
Revue,  Perth,  270. 
Rich,  Barnaby,  78,  80. 
Richard  III.,  143,  177,  179,  214, 

218,   219.   233,   234,    259,  262, 

264,  269. 
Ristori,  149. 
Rivals,  The,  138,  252. 
Road  to  Ruin,  The,  252. 
Rob  Roy,  143,  154,  168,  170,  172, 

173,   223,   229,   231,   238,  239, 

260,   263,   266,   267,   270,   271, 

273,  274,  281,  283. 
Robert  Bruce,  epic  poem,  14. 
Robert  The  Bruce  (The  Lord  of 

the  Isles),  262. 
Robertson,  Joseph,  49. 


Robin  Hood  plays,  21,  30,  51, 
52,  68,  69,  73,  74,  75,  82,  85, 
246. 

Rock,  comedian,  203,  214,  252. 

Romeo  and  Juliet,  143,  181,  193, 
218,  236,  254,  264,  277,  279, 
286. 

Rope-dancers  and  walkers,  80, 
87,  88,  95,  110,  165,  180,  192. 

Rose  of  Ettrick  Vale,  The,  225. 

Rosier,  Mile.,  dancer,  276. 

Rosina,  172. 

Ross,  David,  130,  131,  199. 

Rothesay,  Duke  of,  246. 

Rowe,  Nathaniel,  161. 

Royal  Oak,  or  The  Days  of 
Charles  II.,  231. 

Rutherglen,  185. 

Ryan,  John,  actor,  113. 

Ryder,  Corbett,  60,  144,  154, 
"167,  168,  169,  170,  171,  172, 
176,  180,  258,  259,  261,  262, 
263,  264,  266,  267,  268,  269, 
270,  271,  272,  280,  283. 

Ryder,  Thomas,  176,  177,  281, 
283,  285. 

Ryley,  author  of  The  Itinerant, 
168. 

Rynd,  Patrick,  playwright,  248. 


S. 
St.  Andrews,  Cathedral  of,  36. 
St.   Anne's  Lane  Theatre,   253, 

255,  268,  262. 
Sacrament,   The,   140. 
Saker,  Miss,  actress,  234. 
Satire  of  the  Three  Estates,  25, 

28,  69,  70,  85,  246. 
School   for   Scand-al,    The,    138, 

202,  213,  252,  259,   267,  273. 
Scots    Company   of    Comedians, 

109. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  10,  33,  57,  70, 

127,   139,    141,   142,    143,   147, 

152,  166. 
Scottish  Minstrels,   11. 


302 


THE  SCOTS  STAGE. 


Sempill,  Robert,  playwright,  78. 
Seymour,     Frank,     lessee,     226, 

227,  228,  229,  230,  231. 
Shakespeare,  87,  89,  156,  247. 
Sheridan,  Richard  Brinsley,  o5, 

133,  179,  2o2. 
Shoe   Lane   Theatre,   Aberdeen, 

55. 
Siamese  Twins,  93,  91,  231. 
Siddons,   Henry,   141,    142,   166, 

167,  202,  203,  255,  256,  257. 
Siddons,  Mrs.,  57,  127,  134,  135. 

142,  166,  179,  201,  210. 
Siddons,  Mrs.  Henry,  142,   147, 

155,  166,  255,  257,'  273. 
Siege  of  Perth,  The,  251. 
Siege    of    Belgrade,    The.    171, 

174. 
Sinclair,  vocalist,  171,  210,  281. 
Slave.  The,  174,  260,  262. 
Smiles  and  Tears,  comedy,  259. 
Smith,  Henry,  dog-trainer,  170. 
Smith,  Misses,  vocalists,  176. 
Soldier's    Daughter.    The,     168, 

277. 
Soldier's  Return,  The,  258. 
Solomon,  King,  37. 
Sothern,  E.  A.,  149. 
Spalding's  Memorials,  92. 
Spanish  Friar,  The,  100. 
Spectacle  at  South  Inch,  247. 
St.    Nicholas    Work,    Aberdeen. 

49,  51. 
St.  Obert's  Play,  247. 
"  Stag  Hunt,  A,"  230. 
Stage,  History  of  the  Scottis-h, 

John  Jackson's,  58. 
Stage,  The  Glasgow,  209. 
Stanley,  Mr.   and  Mrs.,  273. 
"Starring"  System,  57. 
Stephens,  Miss,  singer,  143,  210, 

270,271. 
Stewarts  Oryginalle,  The,  15. 
Stirling,   Mrs".,   149. 
Stocks,  Detention  in,  82, 
Stranger,  The,  258. 


Stuarts,  The,  15. 
Sullivan,  Barry,  60,  181,  242. 
Suspicions  Husband,  The,  268. 
Sutherland's  Company,  250,  251, 

263, 
Sweethearts  and  Wives,  229. 
Sword  Combats,  105.  106. 
Sword  Dance,  248. 
Sydceff,  Sir  Thomas,  96, 


Talbot,  Henry,   155,  268. 
Tam  o'  Shanter,  play,  268. 
Taming  of  the  Shrew,  214,  236. 
Tayleur,  comedian,  264. 
Taylor,  the  water-poet,  91. 
Taylor's   Hall,   Edinburgh,   108, 

110. 
Tearle,   Osmond,   155. 
Tell,  William,  224. 
Tempest,  The,  110. 
Tennis  Court,  Holyrood,  73,  80, 

96,  98,  100,  101,"^  102, 
Terry,    Daniel,    comedian,    142, 

166,   168,  267,  273. 
Testament  of  Fair  Cresside,  19. 
Thomas  the  Rhymer,  11,  12. 
Thrissil  and  the  Eois,  19,  67. 
Time's  a  Tell  Tale,  256, 
Titieus,  149. 
Tobin,  playwright,  211. 
To7n  and  Jerry,  226,  229. 
Tom   Thumb,  257. 
Toole,  J.  L.,  149. 
Touring    Company    from    Hav- 

market  Theatre,  243, 
Touring  Company,  Crisp's,  281. 
Touring     Company,      Hooper's, 

277, 
Tournaments,  67. 
Town  and  Country,  220. 
Town    Drummer,    52,    183,    185, 

188. 
Town  Hall,  Dundee,  158,  160. 
Town    Minstrels,    47,    52,    183. 

188. 


INDEX. 


303 


Town  Pipers,  52,  65. 
Trades  Hall,  Arbroath,  155. 
Trades  Hall,  Dundee,  101. 
Tree,  Miss,  actress,  210,  224. 
Troubadours,  22. 
Trueman,  267. 

Trueman  and  MacGregor,  251. 
Tumblers,   22. 
Tumbling  Lassie,   The,   99. 
Two  Drovers,  The,  276. 
Tyrer,  Martha,  178,  274. 
Tytler,  WilUam,  98. 
Twelfth   Night,  80. 

U. 

Universal  Fast,  82. 

V. 

Vagabonds,  81,   82,   120,   184. 
Vandenhoff,  the  elder,  147,  173. 
Vandenhoff,    60,    150,    231,    275, 

277. 
Venice  Preserved,  134,  204,  222, 

257. 
Victoria  Theatre,  Dundee,  181. 
Violante,  Signora,  108. 
Virginius,  169,  224,  264. 

W. 

Ward,  Mrs.,  54,  113,   117,   118, 

193. 
VVarton,  29. 

Warton's  Scottish  Poetry,  20. 
Warwick's  Players,  Earl  of,  247. 
Waterman,  The,  211 . 
Waverlcy,  a  drama,  273. 
Waverley    Novels,    Avowal    of, 

147. 
Waxwork  Show,   167. 
Wedderburn,  James,  25,  155. 
Wedderburne,   64. 
Wee  Scott,  actor-manager,  181, 

182. 
Weekes,  Paddy,   170,   171. 


Weir,  actor,  111. 

Weldon's  Secret  History,  34. 

Wells,  Miss  Estcourt,  174,  281. 

West  Indian,  The,  166. 

Westcomb,  actor.  111. 

Weston,  actor,  132. 

Wheel  of  Fortune,  The,  218. 

Whitfield,  George,  129.  132,  194. 

Whits un  Ales,  91. 

Wigan,  Alfred,  149. 

Wild  Oats,  211. 

William  Tell,  283,  284. 

Williams,   Glasgow  lessee,   198. 

Wilson,  John,  tenor,  278,  279. 

Wisdom  of  Solomon,  The,  187. 

Wives  as  They  Were.  254. 

Wodrow,  105,  107,  109. 

Woman's  Wit,  284. 

Womb  well's  Menagerie,  283. 

Wonder,  The,  111. 

Wood,  actor,  134. 

Woodfall's    Letters    of    Junius, 

55. 
Woodward,  actor,  132. 
Woodward,  Mrs.,  actress.  111. 
"World  as  It  Goes,  The,"  163. 
Wreck  on  Shore,  A,  281. 
Wrecker's  Daughter,  The,  284. 
Wyndham,  Mrs.  R.  H.,  148,  150, 
•  234. 

Wyndham,  R.  H.,  146,  148. 
Wyntoun,  Andrew,   16. 


Y. 

Yates,    actor    and    entertainer, 

174,  223. 
Yates,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  133. 
Yeaman  Shore  Theatre,  Dundee, 

163,  164,  165,  178,  180,  181. 
York   Street   Theatre,   Glasgow, 

230,  231. 
Young,  actor,  203. 
Young,     Charles     Mayne,     169, 

210,  266. 


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